Don't Want A Love Like Ice!
by hailstorm888
Summary: Mei Kurosaki and Hugh Oakley have been best friends forever. And now that Mei finally has her own Pokemon, the two are setting off on their journeys. They'll have new experiences, both terrific and horrifying! Of course, that little part where Mei has an enormous crush on Hugh will probably make things a little more interesting too... Sequelshipping!
1. Chapter 1

**YAY NEW STORIES AND COUPLES AND ADVENTURES! **

**So I was going to wait until I was almost done with my FerriswheelShipping story to start this one because there's a lot of connections between the two, but I didn't want to wait any longer. So who's ready for some SequelShipping?! Please tell me what you think about the chapter after reading as well! Also, I'm not very happy with the name of this story right now, so if you have any suggestions, please tell me and I'll totally give you credit and I'll even name a character after you in this or whatever one of my stories you'd like!**

**I don't own Pokemon! **

**DON'T WANT A LOVE LIKE ICE**

Chapter 1: The Zebstrika And The Rapidash

_Thursday, June 11th_

Hugh had wanted nothing more than to stay home and help his parents decorate his soon to be sister's room. She was still in his mom's tummy, and still wasn't very big, but she'd be out pretty soon, at least that's what he'd been told. Hugh had wanted no part of this new neighbor thing. His parents had told him all about the new kids that were moving in to that brand new full size house down the street, and how there was going to be a boy about his age there that he'd be best friends with. No. That was not Hugh's plan.

He didn't have many friends, and that was because he didn't want them. Boys his age were... well, Hugh didn't know the word. After all, he was only five years old. But they got dirty, played in their mom's gardens, scared their sisters with bugs they'd find, and built Lego towers just to knock them down with toy dinosaurs. At least Hugh could agree that that last part was pretty fun, but the rest of it just wasn't his style. And because of that Hugh usually played by himself. Until his sister would come along anyways.

Aspertia City was brand new in pretty much every way, the condo that Hugh was living in was only about a year old itself, with Hugh's family having moved in as soon as it'd been built. Where this new neighbor's house was being built was in the newest district of Aspertia, and many houses here were still in the construction process. Hugh did have to admit that it looked pretty nice. It was made up of red bricks and had a dark red roof. It'd been built right next to Tympole pond, which Hugh and his father often visited together. It, unlike the condo Hugh and his family lived in, also had a good sized yard surrounded by a pure white picket fence. The mailbox was a plain silver, and a man was kneeling beside it when Hugh and his parents approached.

"Mr. Kurosaki?" Hugh's mother politely asked. The man looked up hastily, and banged his head into the mailbox Hugh now realized that he was painting on.

He laughed nervously, and rubbed his head, adjusting his glasses as well. Hugh only scowled. The guy was pretty much a nerd, and Hugh didn't understand what his parents would want with a guy like this. He had short, dark brown hair which was now all messy, and was wearing a pair of paint covered, dirty overalls with a red and green plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was all sweaty too, and Hugh crinkled his nose at the smell of body odor.

"Ah, sorry about that. You must be the Oakleys!" Hugh's mother smiled again and put her hands on Hugh's shoulders.

"That'd be us! My name is Dana, and this is my husband, Chris." Hugh's mother was pretty much the exact opposite of his father. His mother was friendly, comforting, generous, and all that mushy stuff, while his father was relatively quiet and not so much friendly. His mother quickly jut an elbow into his dad's gut when he didn't offer a hand to shake. It might've been funny, if Hugh had wanted to be there in the first place.

Chris cleared his throat and gulped, before shaking the other man's hand firmly.

"Of course, of course." There was silence for a moment more, before the nerdy man remembered to introduce himself. "Oh, sorry, nearly forgot, I'm Clyde! Just a little forgetful after the move I suppose," There was a second awkward silence, which Hugh continued to frown through.

"So, um, what are you working on Clyde?"  
"Oh, just painting the name on the mailbox! I told the kids that they could decorate it later on, but Kyohei didn't really seem that interested. Maybe you could help my daughter out on it?" The question had been directed towards Hugh, who only stared back at the man in annoyance. Clyde's face became red, and he looked away.

"Hugh," His mother said his name in a warning tone. "Sorry about him, he's just in a mood."

"It's alright, we all know how kids can be!" The parents, except for Hugh's dad, laughed. He looked almost as uncomfortable as Hugh was irritated. "Anyways, my wife is in the back with Kyohei if you'd like to go and see her, there's a gate in the fence just over there." Clyde pointed and Dana thanked him. Chris stayed behind while Hugh and his mother went into the backyard. The lady back there was in some old jeans and a pink t-shirt, and was wearing her own apron thing while she planted flowers and vegetables in the garden.

Just as Hugh had expected, the boy in this family was sitting in some loose dirt, sifting through it and playing with worms. He crinkled his nose and hoped his mom wouldn't say anything.

"Now Hugh, I expect you to be nice to this boy and play with him."

"But mom-"

"No buts, you need to make a friend! His name is Kyohei, now go."

"I-"

"Go." Hugh scowled but said nothing more, and struggled not to stomp over to where the boy with the big brown hair was playing. That hair looked like it hadn't been washed in months. Hugh couldn't even tell what color his pants were, or if they were shorts. The boy's legs were covered in dirt.

"Hi." Hugh said, glaring at Kohee or whatever his name was. He looked up at Hugh and grinned.

"Hey! You must be that new kid!" _No. _Hugh thought to himself. _You're the new kid. _Kohee's face lit up. "Do you wanna make mud pies with me?" Hugh didn't reply. He didn't want to get into trouble for saying no, but didn't want to do it either.

"Boys, come on, we're going inside!" Kohee jumped up and ran to his own mom. She was tall and thin, and she also had brown hair, a lighter color than her husbands' and sons', and it was tied up in an enormous bun atop her head. She frowned when she saw Kohee. "No Kyohei."

"What?"

"You are not going into the house like that. Take off your shirt and go wash off with the hose."

"But _moom,_"

"Now." Were all moms like that? Kyohei pulled off his shirt, and walked towards the other side of the yard, pouting. Not that Hugh cared. He ran over to his own mother and followed her into the house. He was quickly told to take off his shoes and was offered some homemade cookies which he accepted, after remembering to say please and thank you. And by remembering he means that his mother glared daggers until he did. The dads came inside as well, and started boring adult talk.

"So where's your daughter? I'd just love to meet her since I'm going to have one of my own pretty soon!" The moms laughed and smiled. Hugh's frown lessened, just a little. He kind of wanted to meet her too. He hadn't heard one peep from where she was supposed to be, upstairs, and he was becoming curious, as young children do.

"Mei's a shy little thing, she's probably up in her room. I'll call her down. MEI SWEETY!" Everyone was a little shocked at the voice on this woman. Hugh would've hated to be one of her kids when she got really mad. Speaking of kids, looking out the window he saw Kyohei. With the hose now in his pants. He pretended not to see that.

"_What?" _Came a small, muffled voice from upstairs.

"COME HERE PLEASE!" There was nothing for a moment, and everyone patiently watched the stairs. Finally, the sound of feet could be heard quickly padding down the steps. The young girl came into view when she had about five steps left. She had the same light colored brown hair as her mother, which was very long but hung loosely around her head and shoulders.

"What is it mom- _Ah!" _As soon as she saw the strangers in her house, the girl let out a small scream and fell down the remaining steps. But as quickly as she had appeared, she had picked herself up and scampered back up the stairs.

"Oh dear, I hope she's alright." Hugh's mother commented.

"I was hoping she wouldn't be so frightened, I'd better go check on her-"

"I'll go." Everyone was surprised to hear Hugh's confident voice. He'd said barely two words this entire time.

"Honey, I think this is a mommy moment."

"Oh no, that's fine. Maybe it'll help Mei make a new friend." The woman suggested. Hugh, for the first time all day, smiled and ran towards the stairs.

"Speaking of, what is taking that boy so long?" Hugh waited just long enough for Kyohei's mom to see him before heading upstairs. "KYOHEI CLYDE KUROSAKI WHAT IN ARCEUS' NAME ARE YOU DOING!"

Upstairs, Hugh began peeking into different rooms, trying to find which one looked most like a little girls'. First he found a bathroom full of boxes. Next, on the right side of the hallway, was a bedroom also full of boxes, some of which had been knocked over and toys now spilled out. The bedspread was full of dragon type Pokemon, and the room was in the process of being painted green. This, Hugh quickly realized, was Kyohei's room. The next room at the end of the hallway, on the right, had much fewer boxes inside and was bigger than the first. It was pretty boring so Hugh decided that it must be the parents' room. The last room was just across the hallway, and the door was slightly ajar.

Hugh quietly pushed it open, and stepped inside. The hardwood floor had been covered mostly by a light purple rug, which was super fuzzy, and though the walls were white, there were a couple paint cans in the room suggesting that it soon would be colorful. The bed here had at least ten pillows on it Hugh thought, all different colors, and then a few large stuffed Pokemon. There was an enormous Arcanine, a Togekiss, a Cottonee, and a Musharna. The bedspread was white with light blue and purple polka dots all over. There were boxes in here too, but a lot of them were empty already. A wooden dresser, which Hugh had passed on his way in, had clothes stacked on top of it and drawers open.

After a moment of looking around the room, Hugh began to wonder where in here the girl, Mei, could be. That was when he heard giggles. Looking to his left, Hugh saw a sliding door, probably going into a closet. Yellow light was visible coming from underneath it.

Suddenly Hugh felt nervous. Half of him wanted to run back downstairs, but the other half wanted to meet this girl in the closet. Slowly, he made his way towards the closet. After placing his hand on the knob, Hugh squeezed his eyes shut, then, threw the door open.

When he opened it, he was staring into huge blue eyes in a face red like tomatoes. The girl screeched, then dove into the corner and underneath a nearby blanket. Hugh, not knowing what to do, stared after her for a moment. The blanket was dark blue, his favorite, also the same color as his hair.

Hugh stepped inside, and closed the door. As he was about to sit down, he stepped on something hard that poked his foot. It was a little plastic Pokemon doll. There were two of them actually. A Zebstrika, and another one that he didn't recognize with a red mane and tail. The blue haired boy sat down and picked up the Zebstrika.

"Do you like Zebstrika?" He asked. The girl didn't answer, only shrinking further back into her corner. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell down the stairs?" Again she didn't answer. Hugh noticed that his face was beginning to heat up. He didn't want to say something and not get answered again. After huffing, then thinking for a moment, he found something else to say.

"That blanket is my favorite color you know." The ball of child shuffled, then peeked out from under the blanket. Finally, he was getting somewhere.

"You can't have it." She peeped. Hugh frowned, not understanding.

"I didn't ask."

"Kyohei wants it, and he always steals it from my room."  
"Next time he does, _I_ won't let him." The brunette laughed, and Hugh's face heated up again. He had only been annoyed that Kyohei was so... _boyish. _He hadn't meant to make the girl laugh.

"A-are you going to come out now?" She shook her head, but her face remained visible. After a couple minutes of silence, Hugh looked back down at the toys, and picked up the unfamiliar one. "What is this?" He asked.

"That's a Rapidash."

"What is it?"

"It's a Pokemon stupid."  
"Hm." Hugh took each one in a different hand and had the two walk up to each other. After that though, he didn't know what to do. Other kids might've made them fight, but Hugh wasn't sure.

"That's not how you play with them." Mei informed him.

"Well then how?"

"You have to know their names first."  
"Fine. This one's Zeb, and that one's-"

"They already have names stupid." Knowing the girl's tone as one of slight annoyance, Hugh sat back and watched as she finally came out from under the blanket and took the toys gently from the other child's hands. Her hair, hanging lankily around her, had become frizzy from being underneath the blanket. "Zebstrika's name is Stormo, and Rapidash's name is Valia." Now, the girl seemed proud to talk about her toys.

"How do you play with them?"

"They talk and play games and travel all over the region!" She explained happily, then held Stormo out to Hugh. "Here. You take Stormo." Hugh cautiously took the toy and held it on the ground. "Okay Stormo, let's go to Castelia City! _Niegh!" _The girl made what Hugh knew as a horse noise, then looked expectantly up at him.

"Uh, yeah, I hear they have really good ice cream!" Mei laughed. Hugh was terrified. The small blush on her face was nothing compared to the color he thought would be permanently there.

**10 Years Later**

_Tuesday, June 14th_

The ceiling was just as exciting as ever. I'd always wanted to do _something _with it, but that ridiculous bumpy exterior prevented that. Sighing I swung my legs around and over the side of my bed. I'd told Hugh that we should hang out today but he hadn't been over yet. It was only eleven in the morning, but I was still bored out of my mind.

Hugh and I, since the first day we had met, have been the best of friends. All the parents had assumed it'd be Kyohei he'd finally connect with, but Hugh wasn't like every other boy. He was Hugh. Over the years, we'd actually brought out the best in each other. I was nowhere near that shy little thing I'd been when we'd first moved to Aspertia City. Remembering that day, I smiled.

Nearly everything about me had changed since then, even my room was different. It was still painted light purple, which had been my favorite color then, but was now second to red. My entire bed had been switched out for a larger one, and maroon sheets and a comforter. I'd gotten plush, tan carpeting in my room, though that old rug was still somewhere in the house. My hair no longer hung around my shoulders like it used to, but now sat in two buns on top of my head with two long strands of hair which I let hang down. I still had all my pillows and stuffed Pokemon, plus all the ones I'd collected over the years. I would switch them out every couple months, but right now had out my homemade Aspertia pillow, a huge red fuzzy pillow, a Blissey stuffed Pokemon, and my favorite, a giant Arcanine.

Making my way across the room, I opened up the closet to search for something to wear. I was still in pajamas. The closet which I'd used to spend so much time in, playing with Hugh, still had pictures taped all over it, and some toys sitting in the back corner. Out of every place in the world, if I ever needed to be comforted, I would still sit in this closet with my Arcanine, and hopefully Hugh.

I picked out my favorite t-shirt, white with a pink Pokeball on the front and blue sleeves that went down about to my elbows, then my yellow shorts and black spandex that Kyohei would always make fun of. Thank Arceus he was gone now. Of course, I still found it unfair that he'd gotten a Pokemon before me and left on his journey, but I was supposed to get mine sometime this month.

After I was dressed I looked in the mirror to help me tie the bow of my bra/swimsuit. I wasn't sure what about the look of it I liked, but I thought that I looked absolutely stunning. I quickly readjusted one of my buns, then went downstairs.

"Where are you off too?"

"Where do you think mom?"

"I thought Hugh was coming over here today?" I shrugged and went to open the front door. "Not so fast, have you got your Xtransceiver?"

"_Moom,"_ I whined. She only gave me what I liked to call the Eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and ran back upstairs and grabbed the useful watch. Just as it was ringing too. Pressing the answer button, Kyohei's face popped up on the screen.

"What do want this time Kyohei, and if it's food, mom said we're not aloud to send you anymore." Kyohei made an annoyed face.

"No, _that's not what I'm going to ask for everytime I call Mei." _

"So what _do _you want?"

"_To show you this!" _Suddenly the ugliest thing I've ever seen was thrown into the screen.

"What the- Kyohei what is that?!" The fifteen year old pulled back the blue and yellow striped creature and looked at it, confused.

"_It's just a Dunsparce, what's wrong with him?" _

"Why would you show that to me, you know I hate bug types!"

"_He's not a bug type, he's a normal type genius."_ Kyohei sarcastically replied.

"Whatever, I don't like it, and I especially don't like you bragging to me about your newest Pokemon."

"_Well don't you want to hear about this _enormous _Leavanny that Burgh-"_ I hung up. Bug types creeped me out, and I had no interest in hearing about my brothers battle with the King of the Bugs. Once again, I ran downstairs, but this time I was stopped by my dad.

"Where're you off too sweetheart?"

"Just going to see Hugh."

"Ah, well don't be gone too long, your mom's got homemade mac and cheese in the oven!"

"That's great, will there be enough for four?"

"Sure will!"

"Thanks dad!" I leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek then was finally out the door. As always, I tapped the top of the mailbox on my way out. Across the side was painted Kurosaki, our last name, and it was full of colorful doodles Hugh and I had painted onto it, and on the other side, we'd each painted each other. Of course they were only stick figures with exaggerated hair, but they were great memories.

I took in a deep breath of the sweet smelling air. Early summer was one of my favorite times in Aspertia City. It was warm, but a nice cool breeze always blew through. Everything was green, and everyone was having fun. On a day like this, I knew that Hugh wouldn't be in the house, so instead of stopping by the condo he lived in, I walked past it and towards Aspertia Park.

Sure enough, among all the little kids on the playground was Lucy, Hugh's nine year old sister, and of course Hugh was sitting on top of a nearby picnic table, watching her. That was one of the things I loved about him, he was so protective of the people he cared about most.

Hugh's Pokemon, Tepig, saw me before he did. Tepig was just about the most adorable thing in the world. I kneeled down and scratched the top of his head as a greeting.

"Well hello Tepig! How's my favorite little piggy doing today?" I nearly always talked to Tepig in that high pitched baby talk voice, but he absolutely loved it. I picked the small Pokemon up and he sneezed some small embers happily in my face for a response, his little tail wagging all the while.

"Do you _have _to talk to him like that?" I looked up to see Hugh staring down at us, an amused expression on his face. He wore his usual blue pants with his red and white jacket. I smiled back.

"Aw come on Qwilfish head, you know he loves it!"

"Yeah bun head, but he's a boy, and not a baby." I climbed up onto the plastic picnic table and sat beside Hugh.

"Kyohei called me again today." I lied down on the picnic table, looking up into the blue, cloudless sky. Hugh's expression was a bit hard to read. He'd never liked Kyohei all that much, but he was still my brother and Hugh tried to get along with him for the most part.

"Yeah, and what did he want?" Hugh asked, lying down next to me.

"Just to show me the ugliest worm creature I ever did see." We turned our heads to look at each other, Hugh with an eyebrow up. "I guess it's called a Dunsparce." The bluenette broke out into laughter.

"You are so judgmental," He told me smiling.

"What, it was hideous!" I felt a twinge of electricity shoot up through my hand as Hugh and I's hands brushed. Beautifly filled my gut, and my face grew a little red.

Oh yeah, I guess this would be useful information. I have an enormous crush on my best friend. Don't make me feel any guiltier about than I already do. I don't have the courage to do anything about it, and I don't really want to either. If Hugh rejected me... I don't know what I'd do. And after that, what we already have would be ruined.

Want to know why my favorite color changed from purple to red? Because that's the color of Hugh's eyes. I thought about blue when I was nine, navy blue, because that was the color of his hair, but it seemed a bit too obvious. Why my toy Rapidash and Zebstrika still sit on my dresser to this day? Because they were what Hugh and I first bonded over. I could go on and on with all the little bits and pieces of my crush and our relationship, but I won't bore you with the details.

"So have you heard anything about your Pokemon yet?"

"Unfortunately, no." I sat up straight, running my hands down my legs. "I'm not sure how much longer I can wait Hugh." The slightly older boy sat up next to me and plopped a little fire type down in my lap.

"Well, until you get a partner of your own, you have Tepig." I smiled as Tepig jumped up and nuzzled me. "And me of course." I blushed a little, and thought about leaning up against Hugh. He probably wouldn't think much of it, but decided not to anyways.

"Hugh, Mei!" We both looked down and saw little Lucille running up to us. While Hugh had his mother's blue hair and grandmother's red eyes, Lucille had her father's dark, dark brown hair and her mother's eyes. Each one, just like her mother, was a different color. One a very light green, and the other was hazel brown.

"Hey Lucy!"

"I heard you guys talking about your Pokemon,"

"Luc, what did mom say about listening to other people's conversations?" I smiled down at the ground. No one ever expects Hugh to be so brotherly, what with his intimidating looks and all. Lucy scrunched up her nose.

"Don't do that or you'll get arrested." Hugh looked at her a bit confused but amused at the same time.

"Ah, I guess it was something along those lines."

"Anyways-"

_Briiing! Briiing! _The device on my wrist began to vibrate and ring.

"Oh, sorry you guys, I'd better answer this, it's my mom."

"It's fine Mei." Hugh told me.

"Please don't do something weird." I begged them. Both shrugged with Lucy hardly containing a smile. Yeah, I knew what was coming.  
"Hi mo-"

"_Heeey Mrs. Kurosaki!" _Both Hugh and Lucy shoved their faces into the camera, singing out of tune but in unison.

"_Well hi there you guys!"_ I faked being annoyed and pushed down little Lucy's head and shoved Hugh's face away.

"Hey mom," I said, laughing a little.

"_Okay honey, I know you're going to freak out when I say this, so please just keep it to a minimum, but Professor Juniper just called me-"_ My eyes went huge and I jumped onto the bench of the picnic table.

"REALLY OH MY GOD IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS!?" My mother took her hands away from her ears and answered.

"_Um, yes?" _

"YES I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS FINALLY HAPPEN-" Kids, never dance on a picnic table bench like an idiot in public. It won't end well. At least it didn't for me. I'm not the most graceful person around, and I fell backwards and landed between the bench and the table.

"_Mei, are you alright?!"_ My mom yelled into the Xtransceiver.

"You okay Mei?" Hugh asked, offering me a hand. I blushed again, and took it. Hugh works out, so he easily pulled me out of that tight spot.

"_Mei sweetie, are you there?" _

"Yeah, I'm here. So you were saying?" I eagerly sat onto the picnic table, the proper way, and looked towards my mother in the small screen.

"_Right, so my old friend Professor Juniper called today, as we've been expecting, she's sent you a Pokedex and your very own Pokemon!" _

"Eeek!" I grinned and stomped my feet, unable to contain my excitement. I even knew what Pokemon I was going to choose!

"_She's sent her assistant by the name of Bianca, and I was told that you should look for blonde hair and a big green hat. Got it?" _Something about that name tugged at my brain, and I took a moment to think about why that might be.

"Hey, didn't White have a friend who's name was Bianca?" White, one of the legendary heros of Unova and the legendary dragon Zekrom's master, wasn't just a short little bundle of attitude. She was also my cousin. Visiting her, you were bound to see one of her best friends, whose names I couldn't quite remember but whose faces I couldn't forget. It'd been about two or three years since I'd seen any of them, and two since the events caused by Team Plasma and the unforgettable N. Also two years since anyone had seen N or White in person.

She'd fallen in love with him, and of course that had lead to her leaving to find him barely a month after he'd gone. But I didn't blame her one bit. I'd seen White once after N left. It hadn't been good. She hadn't known what to do with her heartbroken self. White had never been very good with dealing with her emotions, ever since her dad had died in a shipwreck. Finding N would always be the one thing that could save her from falling apart completely.

Anyways, back to my point, I was almost sure Bianca was one of White's close friends.

"_Hm... I'm not really sure, the name does sound familiar... Well, I suppose you'll find out once you see her. Remember, blonde hair, big green hat."_

"I will mom."

"_And be sure to come straight home after you meet your new partner, I want to see him or her as soon as possible!" _

"Course mom! Love you, bye!"

"_Love you too sweetheart!" _I hung up the phone and instantly jumped up.

"Mmm!" I barely contained a scream of excitement. "I'm finally getting a Pokemon!"

"Great!" Hugh jumped in, also standing. "Now I finally have something to do around here!" We laughed again. "I'll help you find this Bianca lady Mei, we just need to take Luc home first."

"I don't need to go home, I'm a big girl Hugh!"

"Not big enough, mom wants you home by noon for lunch." Lucy puffed out her cheeks and blushed, but jumped down from the picnic table and ran over to say goodbye to her friends.

I bit my lip as the silence between Hugh and I became awkward. I quickly came up with something to say, but of course it had to be the most stupid thing I could've said.

"You know, you don't _have _to come with me Hugh." _Uuugh_. Suddenly the slightly older teenager had placed one of his large hands atop my head.

"Don't be stupid Mei, of course I do." Hugh walked away then, ushering his sister along. I blushed. Hugh didn't have to say anymore than that, I knew what he meant. We were best friends, and that's what best friends were like, weren't they?

"Come on Mei, let's not keep the Professor's assistant waiting!"

"Uh," I took a quick glance around, breaking away from the small trance I had been in. "Coming!" The three of us walked back to the Oakleys condo together, with Hugh giving Lucy a piggy back ride most of the way there. Just outside the large building, Hugh let his sister down and began to open up the door for her to enter, but she stopped him before he could close it.

"Luc?" Hugh asked her. The nine year old wasn't looking at her brother though, but at me, with a distressing look on her face.

"Mei..." I knelt down to the small girl's level.

"What's wrong Lucy?" She gulped, and suddenly looked much older than any child ever should.

"When you get your Pokemon, take really, _really _good care of him, okay?" Lucy sounded truly distressed, as if she wasn't sure I would be able to care for my Pokemon? No, that wasn't it. But the anguish upon her face was unmistakable.

I looked to Hugh for some sort of answer, but he was completely focused on his sister, red eyes holding a sort of melancholy, yet also a burning rage that I was only slightly familiar with. Hugh was fiercely protective of those close to him, and anyone threatening those people would pay for it dearly.

"Yeah..." Hugh added.

"Uh, of course Lucy. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, or my new partner." Lucille smiled, a sad, sort of relieved smile, then went inside and left Hugh and I alone.

"You know Mei, I'm really glad that you're going to get a partner of your own." Hugh knelt down to pick up Tepig, who'd obediently followed us home. He gently stroked the fire type's head, who nuzzled Hugh's shoulder affectionately. It made me a little sad. "There's something I really need to do, and to accomplish it, I need someone who I can really count on. Someone like you."

I wanted more than anything to ask what that something was, why it was so important. But I knew better. Every once in a while, Hugh, and the rest of his family, would fall into a tragic mood. They would stay inside. They wouldn't talk with anyone else. Hugh would avoid me for the most part. Even Tepig seemed more skittish than usual. This was that same sort of mood Hugh would get into, that sad anger. I had a feeling that this something he needed to accomplish had something to do with it. But whenever I'd asked Hugh about it before, he'd get defensive, even angry. I couldn't stand it when Hugh was upset with me. So I'd learned to live with it.

"So what are we standing around here for, let's go get your Pokemon!" Suddenly that moment was gone, and my best friend was back. He took my hand and began dragging me down the street, past the friendly people of Aspertia, all of which laughed to see the two of us running together, just as we had when we'd been children.

The first place we went past was the brand new Aspertia City Pokemon Gym, which both Hugh and I were thrilled about. Construction had been completed just last week, and it would also be serving as a school for young trainers. Of course Hugh and I weren't planning on going for that last reason, but to challenge whatever Gym Leader would be coming to our new city. Next we passed the Pokemon Center, big and orange as always. I couldn't wait to finally have a good reason to go inside.

As the two of us came near to the gate leading out of the city and onto Route 19, I began to wonder where on Earth this Bianca character could be. I was terrified that somehow, she would never show up, and I would never get to go on my journey.

When I was younger, I'd always wondered what the big deal about going on a journey was. I knew that a Pokemon would be a loyal friend and protector, so that was cool enough, but having them fight other Pokemon, being away from your home and family and friends, and having to take care of yourself all the time? It had never appealed to me very much, until I'd heard my parents, Hugh, and even Kyohei talking about it like nothing in the world could ever make them happier. Now, it seemed like the best idea in the world.

"Where on Earth is this lady?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and taking another look around.

"I don't know, but- Hey, why don't we check the Outlook?"

"The Outlook?" I asked. "You think she'd be up there?" Aspertia City Outlook was our biggest attraction, at least until the Gym would be finished, and it was also one of the most beautiful spots in the city. It looked over miles and miles of forest, you could even see part of Floccesy Town and the nearby ranch!

"Is there anywhere else we haven't looked?" I shrugged my shoulders, then began walking towards the huge staircase that lead up to the outlook. It took about ten minutes for the two of us to run up the stairs; they went up higher than almost every building in Aspertia.

Up at the very top, my breath, already gone from the walk up, was kept away even longer. The woman described by the Professor, green hat and blonde hair, was standing in front of the railing, looking out over the small mountain and forest.

"Wow, it's sooo pretty!" I quietly walked up beside her, and she, with big, wide green eyes, turned to look at me, smiling sweetly. "Don't you agree?" I couldn't speak. It was mostly the whole Pokemon thing, but also this girl was incredibly nice and I totally recognized her as one of White's friends. What was I supposed to say to her knowing that she'd lost one of her best friends?

Bianca wore an orange, puffy jacket with a white V neck and a black tank underneath that. She also wore green capris and orange hiking shoes and had a small green purse with the strap slung across her shoulder. Her green hat had a white bow on it and she wore a pair of red glasses, though they had no lenses in them and I never remembered her having them before. Plus they totally clashed with her overall green and orange look.

"Uh, yeah! It's especially beautiful in the autumn, when all the leaves change color." The woman, a couple years older than I, turned to look back over the land.

"Hm... I'll bet." I almost didn't want to disrupt her thoughts, as she seemed very focused on them. Almost.

"So, are you Bianca?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! I am Bianca! Currently also the assistant of Professor Juniper! You wouldn't happen to know where a girl who goes by the name of Mei might be would you?" If real life was a cartoon, I'm pretty sure I would've sweat dropped.

"Um, yeah actually-"

"Great! Would you mind pointing her out to me?"

"Actually, I'm Mei, the girl you're going to be giving a Pokemon too." Bianca cocked her head and looked at me a bit perplexed for a moment, before her face lit up.

"Well of course you are! I should've known! The resemblance to your brother is uncanny!"  
"Um, thanks?"

"Hows Kyohei doing by the way?"

"Well, uh, he just caught a Dunsparce."

"Great, great!"

"So um, Bianca-"

"Yes?" She asked, with a bit much enthusiasm I might add.

"You wouldn't happen to know White would you?" Her eyes grew a bit wider than usual, and her smile faded.

"Yes. Who wouldn't. Everyone knows what happened you know."

"I-" I felt guilty suddenly, for dampening Bianca's childlike spirits. "Well, she's my cousin, and I just sort of remembered seeing you at some point."

"Oh. Then yeah, she was one of my best friends. Do you miss her as much as I do?" I was unprepared for the question. I hadn't been super close with White, only seen her once, in three years.

"Yeah." But what else was I to say? Bianca smiled sadly.

"You look a lot like her you know. Big blue eyes, brown hair. And I'm sure you'll be a great trainer, just like she was- I-I mean is." It was silent for a moment. "Sorry. Sometimes it's hard to remember that she's still... well, you know." I nodded.

"Well, let's get done with all that sad stuff shall we?" Just as Bianca had just said, all the sadness thankfully lifted off. "Again, I'm Bianca, and I'm so pleased to meet you!"

"Ah, me too!" I added, both of us smiling.

"As you probably already know, I have a really important request to ask of you!" _Here come the Butterfree!_ I thought to myself, hopping up and down and biting my lip with anticipation. "Will you, Mei Kurosaki, help us complete the Pokedex?"

I didn't even wait to answer, instead replying "Totally!" before Bianca had even finished saying Pokedex.

"Well thank you Ms. Eager Pants! Your support will definitely help Professor Juniper's research a whole lot! And it's super fun filling up the Pokedex as well! Okay then, I guess we'd better get to the fun part huh?" Bianca pulled a cylindrical, object out from her purse, and held it with two hands out in front of her. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, and licked my suddenly dry lips.

"_Ta-daaa!" _

The case opened with a click, and steam poured out as the top opened. It was like something out of a sci fi movie. Three brand new Pokeballs, so shiny that I could see my amazed reaction in all three of them, were there before me, each with a small label laid out in front of it.

"Woah." Hugh stated, suddenly beside me. I barely even noticed him.

"Whichever Pokemon you choose will be your partner, so choose carefully kiddo!" I gulped and nodded, then reached a shaking hand out towards the middle Pokemon, then back again. _Which one was I going to choose again?_

"Weren't you going to pick Snivy?" Hugh whispered to me. _Shoot. _I thought to myself, making sure that I'd said that in my head this time.

"_Pig?" _Little Tepig curiously stood up on two legs, trying to get a sniff at Bianca. Finally, I gained the courage to reach out and grab the capsule on the far left, the one containing the grass type Pokemon. I only had to press the middle button softly, but a flash of blue energy appeared, taking the form of the familiar grass snake Pokemon.

The Pokemon appeared just over my head, and I quickly held up my arms and caught the small creature in my arms. It opened up it's amber eyes to look at me.

"_Sni?" _

"I-I choose Snivy!" The grass type immediately lit up into a grin, jumping at my face and attempting to wrap it's small arms around me in a hug. I laughed, falling backwards and right onto my butt.

"Haha, she's adorable!"

"_He_ totally is," Bianca corrected. "Wow, you're so much like your cousin, choosing Snivy and everything!" I looked at Snivy again, grinning. I was happy that this guy was going to be less of a hassle than White's Snivy-with-an-attitude had been, but even more happy to get a Snivy. Choosing Snivy was kind of a tradition in our family, my mom had chosen one, White's dad had chosen Snivy, as had White, and now me.

"I'll bet you two will be perfect together!" Bianca added, clapping her hands together. Tepig jumped up onto me, sniffing his new friend. Snivy became a jealous when he did so, especially when I pat his head, but thankfully didn't do anything but give the fire type a dirty look.

After Tepig jumped down, Hugh helped me up and I allowed Snivy to stay in my arms as I gently stroked his head. He even began to purr. It was freaking adorable.

"I think I'll call you Boa!" I announced to no one in particular.

"_Snivee!" _The starter Pokemon squealed with joy.

"At least you gave him a halfway decent nickname." Hugh commented, earning him a small punch in the shoulder, and a few laughs from the both of us.

"Well I think it's a great name!" Bianca told us in her happy go lucky manner. "Anyways, since you've got your Pokemon now, I'll give you this too!" The blonde handed me a small, pink, square device which, after pressing a button, unfolded itself. The blank screen lit up, and I held it towards Tepig first, then pressed another button.

"_Tepig, the fire pig Pokemon. __It loves to eat roasted berries, but sometimes it gets too excited and burns them to a crisp." _

"Neat!" I said, then used the device on Boa.

"_Snivy the grass snake Pokemon. Being exposed to sunlight makes its movements swifter. Snivy uses vines more adeptly than its hands." _

"So all you have to do is travel around using the Pokedex, visit lots of places, and meet all the Pokemon in Unova!"

"Sounds great!" I replied, barely listening as I was playing with Boa.

"Hey, wait a second, I want a Pokedex too!" Hugh exclaimed suddenly.

"Hm? You want a Pokedex too? Wait, who are you again?"

"I'm Hugh Oakley, Mei's best friend and soon to be rival, and I want to be the best trainer that I can possibly be, and that means getting my own Pokedex, and becoming that much stronger! So, if you can, could I please have a Pokedex of my own Ms. Bianca?" Hugh asked kindly, mustering up all the sweet childness Hugh could.

Bianca looked away for a moment, looking quite thoughtful, then turned back towards us, smiling. "Well, I suppose that's alright! The more people we have helping us with our research, the better! You're just lucky that I happen to have an extra Pokedex with me today!" Bianca handed Hugh his own red Pokedex, which he immediately used on Tepig and Boa. Then, he turned to me, grinning, and eyes ablaze.

"You ready Mei?!" He excitedly asked of me.

"Ready for what?" Hugh put an arm around my shoulder, laughing.

"A little dense today, are we Kurosaki?" I looked at Hugh, giving him the eyebrow. "We need to have a Pokemon battle, duh! I'm going to be your very first opponent!"

"_Te-piig!" _The little fire type jumped out in front of his trainer, shooting embers from his snout.

"I don't know Hugh, Boa and I-"

"Oh come on Mei, don't be a party pooper! I'd love to see how you and Boa do during your first battle!" Both Bianca and Hugh stared at me expectantly. I gulped but nodded.

"Awesome! Get ready you two!"

"Okay Boa, do your thing," I said nervously, allowing the young grass starter to jump down from my arms and into the space of the concrete outlook. Hugh and I both backed up to either side to allow enough room for the two to duke it out.

"Alright Mei, since you're the rookie trainer, you get the first move." I nodded again, then checked the Pokedex to find out that Boa knew only two moves, Tackle and Leer.

"Okay, so I guess I just command you to do one of these... Um, Boa, use Tackle." The grass snake Pokemon ran at Tepig, who easily dodged the attack.

"Use Ember Tepig!"

"Get out of there Boa!" Snivy, being as new as I was to all of this, couldn't escape the attack and sustained serious damage. Of course, I wasn't expecting any sort of win. Hugh had raised Tepig for years, since he'd been an egg, and though they hadn't battled much together, both were still much more experienced than Boa and I.

"Are you alright sweetie!?" I cried. Boa stood shakily from the ground, with a serious burn on his right shoulder. I gasped at the sight of the pain he was in. "U-use Leer!" Snivy lowered the opposing Pokemon's defense, but when Hugh commanded a second Ember attack, I knew that we were through.

I ran out to my already unconscious Pokemon, scooping him from the ground and cradling him in my arms.

"Oh, you poor thing. We'll get you to the Pokemon Center right away Boa, just you wait. HUGH!" I yelled.

"You were great Mei, even though you lost, that was great for your first time!"  
"Hugh, look what you did to Boa!" I scolded.

"What?! We were battling!"

"Yeah, but you should've gone easy on us! I've never done anything like this before, and Boa's just a baby!"

"He is not just a baby-"

"You just-" We began yelling at each other, like we sometimes do. No friendship is perfect, and Hugh and I actually argue like this a lot. Neither of us noticed Bianca until she finally raised her voice and stepped between us.

"Hey now you two, quit your cat fight! We need to get this little guy to the Pokemon Center asap, alright?" The two of us blushed a little, but mumbled in agreement.

As we walked though, Hugh, after returning Tepig to his Pokeball, fell into step beside me, and awkward as it was, the large hand he put on my shoulder was just as comforting as it always was. _This, _I thought to myself. _Is going to be amazing. I can not wait to see what happens next! _

_Tuesday, June 14th_

**I don't think I have ever written a chapter this long. Ever. And hopefully never again. I loved it and everything, it was just too dang long. These chapters should be about the same length as the ones in all my other stories, so don't you guys worry! Anyways, please give me ideas for a new name for this story, and tell me what you thought about the first chapter! Thanks for reading everyone! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I am so psyched to finally be writing this story, I mean I love the Pokemon I have picked out for Mei's team, I actually used all of them when I played Black 2, and it's just the absolute best! Also, I've already gotten my first reviewer here! So thanks Sakura Touko, I appreciate it very much!**

**One more reminder, this is kind of a filler chapter. Boring, I know. Sorry.  
I don't own Pokemon!**

Chapter 2: Yeah I'm Sorry We're Still Stuck In Aspertia... And I Still Suck At Names

_Tuesday, June 14th_

I was still waiting for my Pokemon to be healed. With every passing minute I grew more and more worried. Hugh was standing beside me, silently. While he was leaning casually on the counter, out of the way so other trainers could get their Pokemon healed, I was pacing back and forth nervously.

"What if there were complications?" I asked suddenly, whirling around to look at Hugh. When one of my long strands of hair fell into my face, I impatiently pushed it back into place. Hugh raised one of his eyebrows and looked at me, smiling playfully. I praised Arceus that my cheeks were already flushed. Why was I noticing all these little things now? In this situation!?

"What kind of complications?" Hugh recoiled calmly.

"I don't know," I replied, waving off the conversation, then I began to pace again. After a moment, I spoke up again, even more urgently. "What if Tepig melted Snivy's face off!" Tepig, who was on the floor lying on top of Hugh's foot, scoffed.

"Not that it's your fault little guy, but Boa could be in there right now, getting his molten face reassembled, piece by piece!" I held my hands up to my mouth, terrified that the disturbing image in my mind would become a reality. "I have to go back there right now!"

"Not so fast Kurosaki," Just as I began to march towards the door leading into the room where Nurse Joy and the resident Audino would heal their patients, Hugh wrapped one of his long muscled arms around my waist to drag me back. He hadn't originally realized how serious I'd been, so when I struggled against his grip, the teen had to add his other arm. This time, he easily brought me back to his side. "Boa is fine, you've just got to be patient." I continued to uselessly struggle against Hugh's grip.

"You don't know that!" I argued. Hugh rolled his eyes, but began to become truly frustrated when I once again tried to push my way into the back room.

"Mei- ur, come on Mei, stop it! Cut it out!" As I squirmed my way out of Hugh's grip, succeeding in stepping on both his foot and Tepig's tail, my best friend since childhood released me, but only momentarily. He quickly got a better grip around my waist, gaining some good leverage and completely lifting me up off of the ground then planting my own feet firmly in front of him. Hugh then looked me straight in the eye, his huge red eyes unreadable to even me. I waited, astonished, for him to speak, but Hugh never got the chance.

"Mei?" Nurse Joy asked politely from behind the desk, smiling as if she was puzzled by what was going on between us. She didn't bother using my last name, I knew this particular Joy too well.

"Uh," I quickly reassembled the lost pieces of my mind, my cheeks regaining their original pale color, only just beginning to tan in the early summer. "Ye-yes? Is Boa alright?!" The nurse, in her cute pink scrubs, smiled kindly.

"He's perfectly fine Mei, just a little tired is all."

"So he's gonna be alright?"

"Yes Mei, just give the little guy some little time to chill out. There's no need to worry sweety, this is completely normal for any Pokemon who battles!" Nurse Joy went to reassure me. "Especially one this young and inexperienced. Within just a couple hours, your Snivy will be fine." I nodded, much more comforted now that Nurse Joy had convinced me of Boa's well being.

"Can I see him?"  
"Of course! Audino, could you bring Boa?" I could hear the generous pink Pokemon call to Nurse Joy from somewhere in the back room. Just a few moments later, the normal type came through the door, smiling, while holding a small green body, tightly curled up in a ball. I sighed in relief, gently taking the Pokemon from Audino's arms and cradling him in mine.

"Aw, Boa." I whispered, placing the ghost of a kiss atop his head. I felt a large hand on my shoulder, and heard Hugh's quiet, husky voice next to my ear, sending involuntary shivers up and down my spine.

"I told you he'd be alright." I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks, and rubbed my ear up against my shoulder, trying to rid myself of that in my ear feeling. Hugh chuckled when I did so, as I nudged his head away, the curls of his blue hair tickling the side of my face.

"Well aren't you two adorable!" Bianca, who'd been shopping at the in Center store, suddenly appeared. Hugh and I shushed her, and Bianca quietly apologized, seeing Boa in my arms. "Sorry guys," She whispered. "Gosh, he's just the cutest thing ever!" Bianca lightly stroked the grass type's head, and he shifted slightly. "Well, I've got to get going you guys, it was so nice to meet you both! Remember to talk to your parents before you leave on your journeys, and good luck!"

"Bye Bianca,"

"See you." Hugh and I said our farewells, then Bianca, with her childlike bouncy walk, left the Center. After she was gone, Hugh gently elbowed me.

"Come on, I'll take the two of you home." I nodded, following after Hugh as he left the building and returned Tepig to his Pokeball.

I had nearly forgot how early it still was in the day, and the sunshine blinded me momentarily when I stepped outside. I silently wished that I had brought my visor with me.

"_Sni,"_ Boa shifted in my lap and squeezed his eyes shut even tighter when the light shone down on him. I took in a small breath, not wanting to wake the starter Pokemon, and tucked him further into my chest, trying to protect him from the sunlight.

"You hungry?" Hugh asked, falling into step beside me. I didn't have to answer; my stomach did it for me. I giggled, only a little embarrassed. Hugh smiled lopsidedly, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Why don't we stop at Hiougi's for some linner?" Hiougi's Cafe, owned by Andy Rickertti, a.k.a Hiougi (he's kept the origins of his nickname a secret all these years), is Hugh and I's favorite restaurant in all of Aspertia. Hiougi is a good friend of really everyone, especially Hugh and I. When we were younger, if our parents would go out on the same nights leaving no one to watch the two of us (this happened much more often than you'd think), Hiougi would babysit. We go there all the time, and the food is nearly always on the house. Sometimes I am baffled by how Hiougi stays open with all the free food he gives out.

"I'd love to Hugh, but I'd like to get Boa here home."  
"Right, right, well, I guess I'll see you tonight for the feast. You know, to celebrate."

"Sounds good to me!"

"Awesome!" After a few more minutes and some small talk between Hugh and I, we arrived at my red brick house. I stopped at the gate in the white fence, in need of a new coat of white paint. I must've forgotten to close it, as the gate hung open, wobbling just a little in the wind.

"Well, see you tonight Hugh."

"You too." I watched as Hugh turned away, and began walking down Blossom Street, towards his condo. As if he'd known I'd been looking, Hugh turned his head back towards me, and grinned. I was a bit surprised for a moment, then smiled back, waving as Hugh continued on his way.

Boa sighed in his sleep, and I carefully readjusted his position in my arms, making my way inside the house while watching the small creature lovingly.

I heard a small intake of breath, a gasp, and saw my mother, in her apron with her hair neatly tied up in a bun. "Oh my," She quietly walked across the room. "How cute." She smiled, and stroked Boa's long head The grass type squirmed, but kept his eyes closed.

"I finally got my wish." My mother put her slender hand on my shoulder.

"Finally." We sat on the couch waiting for my dad to get home from work, talking about everything I needed to pack for my upcoming journey. By the time he did, Boa was awake and walking around, enjoying the attention from myself and my mother.

"Hello hello!"

"Dad!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my position on the couch and rushing over to my father, where I nearly tackled him in a hug. My dad isn't so big, and I was just about the same size as he was.  
"Nice to see someone who's happy to see me!" He planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek, and when my father turned to kiss my mother I wiped it away. "Well who's this cute little fella?" Boa had trotted up to my dad, expecting to be scratched underneath the chin, which he was.

"He's my new partner Pokemon!" I told him proudly.

"Ah, so you chose Snivy?"

"Yeah, his name is Boa." Boa came back over to me, begging to be held, and I complied, cradling the grass type like a baby in my arms.

"Well what a cutie. So what are you two planning on for your big going away feast Mei?"

"Hugh invited all of us over." I replied casually. Our two families eat together all the time.

"Dana and I have been planning this for so long," My mother clasped her hands together, more than excited for the upcoming feast. "I feel almost like it's not happening," She wrapped her arms around me from behind, playfully tugging on my hair strands. "My little baby girl, ready to leave home all on her own."  
"_Mooom_," I whined, laughing a little. "I'll be fine, I've got Boa with me, and Hugh too, at least until we get to Virbank City."

"I know, I know. Now, both of you need to help me bring these dishes over." Mom quickly made her way into the kitchen, pulling on the oven gloves and expertly taking a rectangular dish full of something with a fragrance which was like walking into a five star restaurant kitchen. She handed it to my father, who only had one oven glove on and nearly dropped the thing. Then mom grabbed a bowl full of bacon and cheese dip from the fridge and handed it to me. She herself grabbed another few items, then we headed out the door. Boa, who I'd set down just a few moments earlier, followed eagerly, upset that he was having to walk.

Of course, the condo was just at the end of Blossom Street, and a little to the left down Bridge Avenue. I was carrying the least amount of things, so I went to open the door myself. My mother of course though, scolded me and motioned for me to press the doorbell. After a roll of the eyes, I did as she wanted, and waited. I heard a woman calling on the other side of the door, then Dana Oakley opened up the door.

She was middle aged, but still a bit older than my own mother, in her late thirties or early forties. Hugh had gotten his navy blue hair from his mother, but unlike his Qwilfish hair, Dana's was very smooth and wavy, coming down about to her shoulders. She had kind eyes, each a different color like Lucille's. Her right eye was a light, pea green, and the other was a hazel brown. She really was a beautiful woman, even with a few lines appearing on her nearly always smiling face.

"Well hello everyone! Come on in!" We came into the the living room and removed our shoes, placing them on the shoe rack to our left. I smelled baked goods coming from inside the kitchen.

Hugh's house is practically my second home. The living room is quite large, with an enormous black leather couch facing a flat screen television. The whole house has wood floors, with a few nice rugs here and there. An oak wood coffee table with a glass top sits in front of the couch. Dana is a bit of a neat freak, so the only thing sitting on the table at the moment was the TV remote and a pile of cup coasters. Various pictures cover the walls, with Dana, Chris (Hugh's dad), Hugh, Lucy, the family Pokemon and all sorts of different combinations of the five. I'm in a few of them, as are my parents, one even has Kyohei in it, and also a few relatives of the Oakleys.

I followed my mother and Dana into the kitchen, where I set down the bowl of dip, my mom set down the random kitchen things she was holding, and my father set down the dish of what I now recognized was mac and cheese. Boa, who had climbed up onto a chair, was now making his way up onto the table.

"No Pokemon on the table," Dana scolded. She may be kind, but she has rules. She picked up the embarrassed Pokemon and set him on the ground, patting his head. "Now here's a little something to tide you over until dinner." The blue haired woman took a small Poffin out of the jar she always kept treats for the Pokemon in, and handed it to the starter Pokemon. Usually, Pokemon only like specific Poffins, but Dana makes them in such a way that I've never seen a Pokemon turn one of her Poffins away.

Boa sniffed the light blue treat with orange sprinkles over the top, then smiled and cried out in joy as he consumed the food.

Not even a minute later, a small head cloaked in black poked out from behind the marble top counter. It sniffed, not being able to see very well, then snapped at Boa. The grass type fell over in surprise and watched in horror as Deino ate up his treat.

"Deino!" Dana chided once more. I giggled watching the dragon Pokemon sniff at Boa, who was terrified of the thing. "What a glutton," She mumbled, nudging Deino away who slumped over depressingly in his dark blue plush Pokemon bed.

"Everyone's here," Chris, wearing his usual worn jeans and plain t-shirt, strode into the kitchen. His dark brown hair was cut very short and neatly, and his equally brown eyes appeared lazy. Chris, Hugh's father, was a relatively quiet man, not emotional, not very exciting, but a good man. I wasn't very close with him like I was with Dana. Beside him followed a Pokemon that Chris was raising. He was always raising something, it was a hobby of his, though he never really left town except to go to Flocessy. Right now, it was Timburr. Timburr is a relatively mischievous thing, and recently had provided the family with plenty of stories to tell about the fight type who was destroying their home at a steady pace. Timburr was without his log and had a sour look on his face, meaning that he had just gotten into trouble and had his log taken away as punishment.

"Food will be ready in about half an hour sweety," Dana told him. The man nodded, then went to silently help out his wife. When I looked down again, Timburr was standing tall in front of Boa, sizing him up. Boa was quite unsure of this, and began tapping on my leg in order to get away from all these new faces.

"Mei!" Lucy came bounding down the stairs. Her hair was kind of a mess, but it just made her that much more adorable. She was wearing a dark yellow sundress, probably tugged over the girl's hair by her mother for the special occasion.

"Hey Luc!" Lucy ran over towards me, slipping on the wooden floor in her socks.

"_Swoo-woo!" _The family Pokemon, and Dana's long time Pokemon partner, Swoobat, flew down the stairs after Lucy. As he glided past us, he gently grabbed at her hair, giving the young girl what looked like a cow lick, and making her erupt into giggles as she chased after the psychic flying type.

Lucy nearly ran into her mother, carrying a tray of deviled eggs, who once again scolded them. "Calm down you two, you'll be eating soon."

"Kay mom," Lucy replied, not really listening, instead following the obedient Swoobat into the living room. Boa had taken to hiding behind my leg. I scooped him up, to which he had no complaints, until I brought him to meet Lucy and Swoobat.

When Lucy saw the starter Pokemon, she gasped, grinning wildly and quickly adjusting herself on the couch so that she could safely hold him. "You got a Snivy!" She exclaimed, as I placed a struggling Boa on her lap. Lucy got a gentle death grip on him though, preventing him from escaping.

"Yep, his name is Boa, and he's a bit nervous meeting all of you at once, so be nice to him, kay Lucy?"

"Okay," She replied, beginning to very gently pet Boa's head. Lucy had always been so gentle with Pokemon, whereas other kids would pull on their ears and tails and terrify the poor things. Sometimes, she seemed almost nervous around them, always trying to gain their trust and not get hurt. Boa easily accepted Lucy's affection, and settled into her lap.

I smiled at the two of them, so quickly friends, then looked up to see Hugh doing the same. He must've come downstairs fairly quickly and quietly, saving me the trouble of having to go look for him. He saw me staring at him, and I smiled to hide the little color that appeared. He only stared at me in return. Before I could ask what was wrong, Tepig had jumped up onto the couch to try and steal some of the attention that Lucy was giving to Boa.

Boa immediately retaliated, shoving the other Pokemon off of the girl's lap.

"Boa!" I said. Tepig had jumped back up, ready to attack himself. Hugh saw it coming before I did.

The teenager snatched his Pokemon by the tail, nearly throwing Tepig at himself. The Ember attack came down straight onto his leg. The next couple minutes went by almost in a blur.

Boa and Lucy both shrieked in surprise, with Lucille instinctively pulling her legs in close to her and away from the flames, taking Boa protectively in her arms. Tepig screeched, more from surprise as well than the pain of being yanked like that.

"Ah!" Hugh gave a short yell, falling backwards and onto the hard floor. Tepig squealed and ran off somewhere. I barely even heard the gasps come from the adults in the kitchen, I was immediately by Hugh's side, propping him up.

"Hugh, are you alright!?" The bluenette didn't answer, only reaching towards his left leg. The adults were beginning to rush over, but I was already investigating the injury. There was a hole singed into the dark jeans Hugh was wearing. They appeared brand new, probably something his mom had made him wear, something at least somewhat nice besides just the black t-shirt.

The burned skin on his thigh was red, and already starting to peel. Not as bad as I had expected thankfully.

"I'm fine-" Hugh insisted, sitting up.

"Stay put sweetie," Dana told her son. "Chris, go get me a wet washcloth."

"Is Lucy alright?" So Hugh.

"I'm okay." Lucy replied in a small voice, staring wide eyed at her brother from the couch, still clutching Boa.

"Are you sure? If you're hurt-"

"I'm fine." She told him again, much clearer this time. Hugh swallowed but nodded. Chris appeared again with a washcloth, cold with water, and Hugh winced as his mother placed it on his burn.

"Mei, could you go find Tepig for me? I wouldn't want him to feel neglected or anything-" I'd already stood up and headed towards the nearest hiding spot for something of Tepig's size. I could feel Hugh's eyes on the back of my head as I left his side.

The first place I looked was the downstairs bathroom, in the bathtub. That and underneath beds were Tepig's favorite hiding places during thunderstorms. He wasn't there, so I went to the Quiet room, where the family computer was and a small bookshelf and some bean bags. He wasn't there either, and neither was he in the playroom, where all of Hugh's old toys which now belonged to Lucy were.

I came back into the living room, where everyone was still crowded around Hugh. He was sitting up all on his own now, while Chris started to help his son up to the bathroom where they could bandage up his leg.

Upstairs, I first looked in Lucy's room, then Hugh's room, then the upstairs bathroom, the guest room, and finally Hugh's parents' room. Tepig wasn't in any.

"Tepig, here boy. Hugh's sorry about what happened, and I'm sure you are too, but you're gonna have to come out sooner or later little guy." Still nothing. I sighed, and sat down in the hallway, head in my hand. I looked around, trying to think of any place I hadn't yet checked.

My eyes then scanned over the hallway closet. The door was ever so slightly open. Standing up, I made my way over towards the closet and slowly opened the door. And there, trembling in the corner with his head shoved underneath a blanket, was Tepig. He hadn't heard me yet, and I reached my hand out towards the pig Pokemon. Just as I had touched the bulb of his tail, Tepig exploded. He squealed louder than I'd ever heard, turning around to face me with his eyes closed. He didn't attack but waved his head wildly around. I quickly pulled my hand back, and was now watching the terrified Pokemon in confusion.

It had been a long time since I'd seen Tepig act like this. Since that first time Hugh and his family had retracted from the rest of us, the worst time by far. How long ago had that been? Five years? I remember it clearly.

We'd just come back from a visit with relatives in Nuvema Town. Our family was already depressed as it was after yet another attempt to help out my mother's sister's family, if you could even call it that anymore. It was just her and her daughter White. Alexis, my aunt, had become depressed and even given all of her Pokemon away after her husband had died in a shipwreck, and White, who'd been only eleven years old, was never home. She was always getting into trouble, getting picked up by the police even then. My parents at that point had been beginning to feel like there was nothing that we could do.

I'd been sick of all the sadness at that point, so when we got back home, I did the first thing that came to mind. I went to go see Hugh. His mother had answered the door. Her multicolored eyes had been red, and she'd sounded sniffly. Hugh and Lucy had been upstairs, and I'd over course been expecting them to be together. But I hadn't been expecting Lucy to be in Hugh's arms, just sitting there.

Both looked like their mother. Red, puffy eyes. Sniffly. Lucy hid from me, behind her brother. We'd been friends before this. Never before had she been frightened, and most definitely not of me.

Then there was Hugh. He'd been angrier than I'd ever seen him, ferocious even as a ten year old. After nearly making me cry, Hugh had calmed down and awkwardly comforted me. But Tepig had been nowhere to be found. After Hugh had gone and found him, Tepig had looked at me with broken eyes, and struggled to run away with a broken leg. That had been one of the worst days of my life.

Now, looking at Tepig who had those same eyes, I was clueless. It'd taken months to regain the fire type's trust back then, what was I supposed to do in a matter of minutes?

"Oh Tepig..." I sighed again, sitting back on my knees and clasping my hands together. "How am I supposed to help you guys out when I don't even know why I have to?" Tepig stared at me from the corner, no longer shaking, but still not willing to come any closer.

"Let me," I jumped. Lucy had somehow sat next to me without my realizing it. She was alone. I backed away, against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, and watched. "Tepig, no one's gonna hurt you, I promise. Hugh didn't mean it. No one here will ever hurt you or be mad at you, not ever, I promise." After a few more moments, with nothing happening, Lucy added on. "Hugh will never let anyone hurt you ever again." I stared in astonishment. No little girl should have so much depression and sorrow in her voice. But, it worked. Tepig crawled into her lap, and Lucy wrapped her arms around the Pokemon, looking large in her small arms. Neither looked at me when Lucy stood back up. She left the closet door open, and headed down the steps.

I felt very much awkward, but followed behind Lucille. Downstairs, the adults were talking quietly and continuing on with fixing up our little banquet. Except for Dana, who was sitting with Hugh, now in sweatpants, on the couch. Lucille sat on the other side of Hugh, leaning up against him and burying her face into his side. Hugh put an arm around her as Tepig crawled into his trainer's lap. Dana hugged both her children and Hugh gently rubbed the top of Tepig's head.

They all looked so depressed. I'd never felt more invisible.

"Alright everyone, the food is cooling down, so why don't we cheer everyone up with presents?" My mother, who wasn't very good with awkward moments, seemed desperate to get over this one.

Dana replied, sounding and looking much happier. "Sounds like a good idea to me, Hugh, Mei, over there in front of the TV." Dana pointed to where we were to be sitting. I forced a smile, but Hugh seemed contempt to stay neutral. We sat side by side, criss cross, as we were each handed our first gifts, cylindrical, and wrapped in blue wrapping paper covered with Pokeballs.

"You go first." Hugh instructed. I nodded, and gently tore away the paper, nothing like I would've done twenty minutes ago. Inside was five enlarged Pokeballs. Hugh opened his up to find the same thing.  
"Thanks you guys, now we don't have to buy this stuff with our own money."

"You mean the money that you don't have?" Hugh commented. Everyone laughed, finally lifting the uncomfortable atmosphere.

We both also received differently colored Badge Cases, a couple Potions, Revives, and other status healing medicines, maps of the region, I got a new pair of yellow and pink and white tennis shoes, Hugh received a black, single strap backpack, both of us received the TM containing Return, we both got two hundred dollars to start us off with, and I also got a huge pink purse/duffel bag. By the time we were done and people were starting to help themselves to food, I was still staring in wonder at the two hundred dollar bills I'd received.

"Memorize them while they last, cuz' that won't be long." I glared at Hugh, who'd begun filling up on chips and dip.

"Hey, I may not be the best with money, but I'll be the one with the full Badge Case." Hugh raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" I nodded proudly, giggling as Boa ran by, throwing up wrapping paper and playing with Deino, who he'd taken a liking to.

"Yup, just you wait Hugh Oakley, I've got plenty of time to beat you!"

_Tuesday, June 14th_

**OH MY GOSH WHY ARE THE CHAPTERS IN THIS STORY ALWAYS SO LONG. So yeah, sorry about that. Again, sort of a filler chapter, next one I promise we'll leave Aspertia City. And then come back. Cuz, you know, Cheren. **

**I'd also like to take just one moment to apologize to you for the name of this chapter...**

**...**

**Thank you. **

**Please tell me anything you think I should do with this story, and constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Super creative chapter title, I know. **

**I don't own Pokemon. **

Chapter 3: Omelettes

_Wednesday, June 15th_

Dad of course, being the worrisome guy that he is, had pretty much forced me to stay the night at home to leave in the morning, saying that the dark was no place for a teenage girl. I'd reminded him several times that Hugh, who worked out as much as a Machoke, would be accompanying me at least until we got to Floccesy Town. That did not seem to comfort him.

So, the next morning, bright and early, I was up and looking at the checklist my dad had made up for me. I was wearing the perfect yet stylish set of traveling clothes. My blue and white t-shirt with the Pokeball on it and sleeves which went down just past my elbows, my black spandex worn under a pair of loose yellow shorts, my brand new pair of unworn tennis shoes, my bra/swimsuit top, and an old white and pink visor I'd discovered in my closet. I quickly readjusted one of my buns, then picked up my duffel bag, stuffed to the brim, and went downstairs.

It smelled absolutely delightful. My mother was in the kitchen, wearing her old Nurse apron, now covered in the stains of motherhood. Her own large bun atop her head was an absolute mess.

"Mom? What are you making?" She turned and smiled. It appeared somewhat forced.

"Well, in a few minutes they'll be the best dang omelettes you've ever tasted!" I took a seat at the kitchen table, smiling quirkily at my mother.

"Even better than Hiougi's?" I questioned teasingly. My mother sighed and replied.

"Yes." She stated, turning to me. She was quite exasperated. "Even better than Hiougi's."

"Well, it does smell pretty good." My mother smiled, nodded, then turned back to her cooking. I myself laughed quietly.  
"Oh," I remembered suddenly, reaching into one of the many outside pockets on my duffel bag. I reached awkwardly around in the pocket for the correct Pokeball, and once I found it I pressed the center button twice, once to enlarge it, then to release Boa. He appeared contently in my lap, squealing with joy to be out. "We have something for Boa right mom?"

"Oh yes, remember the last time Kyohei visited and we didn't have any Pokemon food?" I groaned at the memory of Kyohei's Pokemon ripping the house apart in hunger. And _I'd _been the one who had to clean it all up!

My mom poured Boa some food and he ate on the floor while the two of us consumed my mother's delectable omelettes. Afterwards, she made me hug her and my father who was getting ready to leave for work goodbye, and I left the house a few minutes after that. Hugh was outside, just walking in the gate.

"There you are, I was just coming to get you. You ready to leave?" I nodded ferociously, skipping towards the blue haired boy, Boa in my arms.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I guess that neither of us really knew what to say. We were leaving home now, starting new lives. What _do_ you say?

"You nervous Mei?" I laughed, petting Boa's head while he purred.

"Is it possible not to be?"

"Well-" I elbowed Hugh in his side, and we laughed. See, it's not so bad!

"How far is Floccesy Town anyways?" I asked. Hugh scrunched up his face. It'd been a while since he'd gone himself.

"About a days walk, maybe less, maybe more." I nodded, adjusting the grass type in my arms.

"I'm so excited. I mean, we're like adults now Hugh. We can do pretty much whatever we want, and we're going to see such amazing places, and meet so many new people and Pokemon, and become so much stronger while we're at it!" I waited for a response from the slightly older boy, but I didn't get one. When I looked up at him, he was grinning down at me. I asked apprehensively, "What?"

"You!" Hugh laughed. This only confused me further.

"What?!"

"You're just so Mei, ya know?"

"No, I really don't." Hugh smiled lopsidedly and looked up at the sky.

"Always the optimistic one."

"Oh," Was all I said back. I was a bit disappointed, I kind of wanted Hugh to say something more, but he held back. No matter. I had bigger things on my mind. We had arrived at the gate leading to Route 19.

The guide woman who worked there, Paula, Hugh and I only knew slightly. She didn't like her job very much, and I could see why. She just sat in the same place all day listening to the government tell her how to do her job. Which was nothing. She obviously knew me better than I knew her though, as she stopped us saying it was dangerous for me to go out without a Pokemon even if Hugh was with me. I held up my arms and Boa waved to the woman. She smiled slightly, then waved us off.

Route 19 was gorgeous this time of year. The sun was shining brightly over the cliffs nearby, and glinted on the river. There were many spring time flowers still around, still not scorched away by the oncoming summertime heat. The route was peaceful, and Pidove cooed in the trees. It was a very nature oriented place.

Hugh and I spoke casually, a bit quietly. It felt wrong to disturb the peace here. Every once in a while one of us would break out laughing though. Hugh later began to act a little strangely, always looking around, searching for something. I didn't say anything at first, but became increasingly annoyed when he started to not hear what I was saying.

"Hugh? Hugh are you listening?" Nothing. Just a head full of Qwilfish hair not so casually whipping around. I narrowed my eyes and tried something else. "So I jumped down from the skyscraper, Excalibur in hand, and punched him in the boob-"

"What?" I smirked. He hadn't actually heard what I'd said, but at least the words briefly passing through his brain had brought me to Hugh's attention.

"What is it that you're looking for that puts me on the back burner Hugh?" I asked, stopping and crossing my arms. Hugh stopped as well, hands still in his pockets.

"I'm antsy is all."

"About what?"

"Well, we just started our journey didn't we? Where are all the trainers, the wild Haxorus to take down?" I laughed, albeit a bit sarcastically. Usually I was the impatient one.

"Hugh, we literally just left Aspertia, like an hour ago."

"So? I at least thought we'd have run into somebody by now." I shook my head, giggling.

"This isn't an action movie, and I don't think we'll meet anybody worth battling until we get to Virbank." Hugh's wide shoulders drooped a little, and I was suddenly horrified by the fact that I'd disappointed him, pooped on his parade, let the rain loose on him, whatever you wanted to call it. "But I'm sure we'll see at least a few trainers before that, and maybe even that Haxorus you defeat in your wildest fanboy dreams!"

Hugh raised an eyebrow at that, but also grinned and laughed aloud.

"Thanks Mei, that sounds just epic." I too managed a small smile to go along perfectly with the blush sprinkled on my cheeks.

We started walking again, only stopping twice more. The first time was for a lunch of a peanut butter and honey sandwich for me, and two PB and J sandwiches for Hugh. He also let Tepig out so him and Boa could eat, and left his own Pokemon out to walk beside us. Boa did the same, but was not the happiest camper walking by himself.

The second time I made Hugh stop just because I was exhausted and my feet felt like they were about to fall off. I nearly fell backwards onto a fairly large rock to rest, and ended up yelping and jumping up off of it after sitting on a sharp edge on the boulder.

"Why aren't there any benches out here?" I asked to no one in particular, opting instead to sit criss cross on the ground. The Pokemon quickly took the opportunity to hop into my lap.

"Mostly because this isn't Castelia City Park, and get up we haven't got all day to sit around and whine." Hugh pulled up on my arm, but I remained locked in place.

"Can't we just rest for a few minutes Hugh?" The older boy sighed, and sat down in front of me. Tepig trotted over from me to his beloved trainer.

Eventually we started up again, and by seven we were nearing the town. We could tell when we heard the ancient bings of the old clock tower reverberating through the canyon we were heading through.

"_Hey!_" I stopped in the middle of the path, and Snivy ran into the back of my leg. Hugh continued on for a few paces, then stopped when he realized I wasn't following.

"What's the matter now?"

"Didn't you hear that?" Hugh's face became confused, and he lightly shook his head no. "I could of sworn that I heard someone yelling at us." Hugh just shrugged and motioned for me to keep walking with him. I took a quick suspicious glance around the area, then followed Hugh.

"_Wait up kids!" _I stopped dead in the path, and Hugh turned to look at me as well.

"Okay, I know you heard it that time."

"_Braaaaaw!" _An enormous flying Pokemon decked in red, white, and blue flew right over our heads, causing both of us to duck and my hair to fly wildly. As the large feathered Pokemon circled back around, Hugh and Tepig instinctively took stances. Both Boa and I took steps back. That thing was enormous, and I wasn't about to have my baby fight with such a thing! It didn't attack though, and instead landed about ten feet in front of us. A very recognizable man hopped down from it's back.

"The Champion?" Hugh questioned, still ready to have Tepig attack if necessary. The man in his poncho turned around grinning at us. His hair was worse than Hugh's. It looked like a sad fire, sticking up all over the place and pulled lazily back into a ponytail It was also streaked with gray here and there.

"Ah, former Champion would be the correct term young man!"

"Oh my Arceus, you're Alder!" I exclaimed, suddenly excited.

"Correct young lady, the stunning Alder Quidel himself!" I giggled, jogging up to the man. Hugh appeared less enthusiastic. He sighed, smiling like someone in a manga would whilst sweat dropping. He did walk with me towards the man though. Alder kneeled down, taking me hand. "And what might your name be, pretty young lady?"

"What a lady killer..." Hugh mumbled.

"I'm Mei, and this is my friend Hugh."

"Well how very nice to meet new trainers like yourselves!" Tepig and Boa nervously approached the powerful trainer, and Alder smiled at both of them. "It's nice to see young people heading towards a bright future with Pokemon!"

"Thank you! It's wonderful to meet you Alder, my cousin's told me so much-"

"Cousin?" I nodded furiously.

"White! She sort of defeated you and kind of became the Champion, but she turned down the position." Alder's violet eyes lit up and he put his hands on my shoulders.

"I knew I recognized those ocean eyes! Unbelievable that I'd meet Touko White's cousin! So I suppose you too are a prodigy of a trainer?" My cheeks grew just a bit pink from embarrassment.

"I'm not so sure about that, today's my first day as a trainer, I don't really know anything about the whole she-bang just yet!" I replied. Alder kneeled down again, as the Pokemon had grown more curious and were now sniffing around his sandal covered feet.

"What fine looking Pokemon! Still young, but with great potential! Whose is whose?"

"Tepig has been my partner for nearly nine years now." Hugh told the red haired man, a tone of pride taking over in his voice. Tepig obviously noticed this and jumped up into Hugh's arms, sneezing some embers once he had settled himself.

"And what a powerful bond the two of you have!" Alder attempted to pet Boa, who became nervous and hid behind my leg, peeking around it like a small child. I laughed at his antics, also picking up the grass type.

"This is Boa, he and I just became partners yesterday."

"Well that's alright, he seems like a nice fella, and once he becomes well seasoned I'm sure that your Snivy will become a powerhouse, just like White's Snivy did! Besides, the two of them most definitely didn't start out on the right foot, and it seems like you too care about each other quite a bit already!" I smiled again, and Alder returned the gesture. His Pokemon, which I had recognized as Braviary, had walked up behind him and impatiently nuzzled Alder's shoulder.

"Ah that's right! Sorry boy, I nearly forgot! It's about his dinnertime." Alder explained. "My home in Floccesy Town isn't so far, how would the two of you like to join us for dinner?" I looked to Hugh for an answer, but the bluenette just shrugged, so I turned the the former Champion and answered.

"We'd love to!"

"Excellent, follow me then! Braviary, you can go on ahead. We'll meet you at the house!"

"_Sqraaaa!" _The Pokemon cawed, before opening up it's huge wings, at least ten feet in length, and taking off, flying over the canyon. Alder lead us through the canyon and just a few minutes later we came into Floccesy. It was a rather rustic, humble place, less modern than Aspertia. The buildings were almost all brick, including the clock tower. The clock tower was my favorite part of the town. It was surrounded by purple delphinium flowers, and was the second oldest building in town, according to Alder. The title of the oldest belonged to his own house, which had been the home of the Quidels for six generations.

Alder's home was quite large, and looked more like a lodge than anything else. His front yard was a homemade battle field featuring benches and chalk lines. Smoke was pouring out of the chimney. Inside, we met two apprentices of Alder, Cassie and Seymour, both twelve. The five of us plus our Pokemon all ate a lovely but simple dinner, salad and rolls. Alder lived simply, and I could respect that.

"Why don't you all battle each other outside huh kids?"

"Sure sir!"

"I'd love to!" I added, smiling at Cassie who had replied first.

"Not so fast," Hugh stood up, his chair squeaking across the wooden floor. "It's nearly eight now, and we still haven't gotten rooms at the Pokemon Center." Alder waved off Hugh's concerns.

"Nonsense, there are plenty of rooms here, the two of you can stay the night here!" Hugh pursed his lips, but I knew that he was itching to see some of Alder's own prowess just as I was, so, he said nothing. Then, we all headed outside for a two on two battle as the sun set. It started immediately, with almost no discussion of any of the rules. Seymour sent out a Panpour, Cassie sent out a Pansear, and Hugh and I sent out Tepig and Boa. Hugh went first, as he was the one most roused and wanting to battle.

"Tackle on Pansear Tepig!"

"Panpour, stop it with Water Gun!"

"Uh," Hugh turned to me, his red eyes blazing. I felt frozen. "Um, Boa, do something!" Boa turned to me, with wide hazel eyes. He had no clue as to what he was supposed to do with my command, and suddenly, Boa was hit hard from the side with an Incinerate from Pansear. "Boa!" I cried.

"Command him to do something!" I blinked, and looked back down at the small green Pokemon. They do learn moves at times like this right?

"Vine Whip Boa! Stop Panpour and protect yourself!" To be honest, I hadn't truly believed that Boa would learn any move on the fly like that. Lucky for me, I have the best partner in the whole world, and two bright green vines shot out from the Snivy's back, one knocking Panpour in the face and redirecting it's Water Gun attack away from Tepig. The other vine wrapped around Pansear's foot, tossing him up and throwing him a good few feet away from Boa. Both monkey Pokemon screeched with surprise.

"Alright, there you go Mei!" I stole a shocked glance over at Hugh. I wasn't used to him praising me about this sort of thing. Well, of course I'd only just begun battling, but still. It felt... really, _really_ empowering. I grinned and looked back towards the battle without replying. "Tepig, use Tackle on Pansear!"

"Leer and Vine Whip on Panpour!" Our Pokemon were like lightning, landing their attacks fast and with precision. I wished that the feeling I was having would last forever. I guess it was probably the adrenaline, but it felt like I was falling, and leaving everything bad behind. And I was riding on a winged Rapidash. While rainbows of fire trailed behind us... Is that weird? Well anyways, it felt amazing. Like nothing could go wrong, and I was at the top of the world.

Suddenly I knew one of the many reasons why people chose to be trainers besides to be with their Pokemon. You could befriend Pokemon and not make them fight, and sometimes even I considered Team Plasma's previous message of not doing that. But the feeling of you and your best friends' wielding so much power and accomplishing things with it, it's irresistible.

Cassie and Seymour commanded attacks of their own, Lick and Scratch, but both of our Pokemon managed to evade the attacks then achieve victory over the younger but still very good trainers.

"Aww," Cassie pouted turning away from the two of us. Alder came onto the field clapping and laughing loud enough to make the rest of us feel awkward.

"Wonderful, just spectacular, all of you! That truly was a rousing battle!" I smiled politely as I picked up Boa, who'd just been poking at me.

"Thank you! I didn't expect to do so well, but Boa and Tepig really pulled through!"

"Oh, they always do Mei, when you believe in them!" Alder put one of his enormous hands on my shoulder. "And the Pokemon had so much fun themselves, which probably helped a whole lot as well."

"I can't believe we lost," We turned and saw Seymour comforting a still upset Cassie. "We had the advantage and everything!" Alder smiled at one the young apprentice.

"Type matchups don't decide everything Seymour. And don't worry so much you two, you'll get stronger, I know." The two smiled softly, then headed back inside the house.

"Well, I suppose we should show you two kids' your rooms! Come on, you've got big days tomorrow!" Hugh, still unsure of Alder's offer, didn't follow as Alder and I headed towards his large home. I smiled slyly, trotting back to the blue haired boy, and took his hand, also bigger than mine, pulling him along behind me into the house.

_Wednesday, June 15th_

**I really can't wait for next chapter since I'm 80% sure that we'll be introducing Team Plasma, and two new members of the team! Unless I get side tracked and the chapter gets too long. If that happens, I am very sorry for getting your hopes up. **

**Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think of the chapter so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sakura Touko, thanks so much for another great review! **

**I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter, please review and tell me what you thought about it!**

**I do not own Pokemon. **

Chapter 4: Two New Faces

_Thursday, June 16th_

The next morning Alder took all four of us out to eat at a local cafe for breakfast, then he sent Hugh and I on our ways down Route 20 with lots of good luck.

"So when do you think we'll be able to catch new Pokemon?" I asked Hugh curiously.

"When we find some Pokemon that we want to catch." I pouted, and glared at Hugh. "What? Do you want me to write you a novel on how to catch Pokemon? I've never even caught one."

"Good point..."

"Hey you two, who's up for a battle?"

"I'm up for it!" Hugh instantly replied, turning around to meet the trainer. The battle started up surprisingly quickly, and went on for a good fifteen minutes before Hugh came out as the victor. We said goodbye and just as quickly went on our way.

"Do battles really happen like that?"

"You sure do ask a lot of questions."

"I'm just curious Hugh!"

"Yes, they do usually happen like that." I nodded, satisfied with this answer. Soon we encountered another trainer, a girl about my age, and very shy. She stuttered when she asked me specifically for a battle and tried to ignore Hugh's presence. Of course I didn't blame her, Hugh could be pretty scary.

"Of course I'll battle you! Boa, you're up boy!" Boa squealed in delight as he jumped down from my arms and held himself proudly. The girl nodded, and released a Purrloin. "Kay Boa, use Vine Whip!"  
"No, Purrloin!" I waited patiently after our attack for the girl to attack too, but she stood frozen.

"Um, you can go now!" I told her, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh, right, Growl Purrloin!"

"You use Leer Boa!"

"Scratch!"

"Dodge it and use Tackle!" Purrloin was unable to go on at that point, and the battle ended. The girl was almost at tears, and I felt so bad that I gave her ten bucks and a Potion for her Purrloin.

"You're such a funny person," Hugh laughed as we got on our way.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hugh laughed again and opened his mouth to answer, but we were interrupted again by a third trainer.

"Hey girl, I saw that battle you just had before, could you battle me too?"

"Um..." I looked towards Hugh for guidance. He smiled a little and sighed.

"Go ahead, but I'm going to keep moving, kay Mei?" I nodded a bit nervously. I wasn't sure that I was ready to travel on my own. "Good luck!" Hugh waved and walked off.

"Alright, go Lillipup!"

"Get ready Boa!"

This battle also ended in victory for me. The boy thanked me and left me to hurry after Hugh. I definitely didn't feel comfortable all by myself here. After awhile I came to a fork in the road and I felt as if I was going to have a panic attack.

"Which way do we go Boa?!" The grass type shrugged and I tapped my foot nervously. To the right was the way to Virbank. I could see the dark buildings looming in the distance. To my left was... I actually had no idea. "Where would Hugh go..." I asked myself. He wanted to get to Virbank in order to challenge the Leader there, but there could be training opportunities the other way.

As I thought about this decision, Boa began to poke at my leg, and as I kneeled down to pet him he tapped on my Xtranciever.

"Oh, duh! Thanks Boa, I can just call Hugh!" I joyfully pressed a few buttons on the device and dialed Hugh.

"_Hugh here," _

"Hugh, where are-"

"_Obviously I'm not paying attention to my Xtranciever right now," _I groaned as the voice message continued.

"How many times have I told him to turn on his stupid watch phone!?" I yelled to Boa, who shrunk back from me. I sighed, and rubbed my forehead annoyedly.

"Are you okay?" A black haired boy peered from around a tree.

"No, I can't find my idiotic friend!"

"What does he look like? I've been here for awhile, maybe I can help."

"Really tall, red jacket, blue Qwilfish hair?" The guy nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, he beat the crap out of me in a battle earlier. He went that way towards Floccessy Ranch." He pointed to the left and I sighed in a relieved manner.

"Thank you." I ran off in that direction until I came across a large archway sign which read exactly as the boy from earlier had said. Floccessy Ranch. I walked inside to see a large and super cute ranch house, and an enormous field. Dozens of fluffy Pokemon were in little herds and pods all around the field. There were a few fences around, but for the most part they were free to roam. There was a thin looking forest behind the ranch house. One of the Pokemon bounded towards me.

"Well hello there!"  
"_Mee-eep!" _I was about to pet the creature when we were interrupted by a deep, loud voice.

"Hey, there you are Mei! Come to toughen up?"

"No! I came here to find you Qwilfish hair!"

"Oh lighten up, this place is great for training! How did your battle earlier go?"

"Pretty good I suppose, we did win afterall."

"Perfect! So battle me!"

"What?!"

"Right now! You've gotten better haven't you? Don't you want to beat me?" Hugh teased, using his height to lean over me and smirk. I scrunched up my nose and put my hand on Hugh's chest, pushing him away.

"Fine Hugh. Let's go." The blunette grinned and called for Tepig, who came running from being in the field. I set Boa on the ground.

"You're first Mei."

"Kay. Boa, use Leer."

"Ember!"  
"Dodge it and use Tackle!"

"You use Tackle too!" The Pokemon collided head on, both sustaining damage. "Use Flame Charge Tepig!"

"Get out of there!" Boa jumped out of the way as Tepig came stampeding by. "Use Tackle again!" Boa came up from behind Tepig and rammed into him.

"Alright Mei, you're getting better at this!"

"Use Vine Whip!" Boa flipped the other Pokemon over, causing him to roll until he was up on his feet again. I was so engrossed with beating Hugh that I didn't notice the suddenly fierce expression on his face. "Now go in for a-"

"Tackle then Ember Tepig!" Hugh's tone was enormous and determined. I'd only seen him battle a few times before, but never in a serious situation such as this. It was a bit unnerving seeing him this aggravated. I've seen Hugh angry only a very few times, but this was still different.

"Look out Boa!" Hugh got into battling unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was like nothing else mattered when he was in the zone. Boa was knocked backwards tremendously, and lay at my feet. He was still conscious, but just barely, and hurt. For a second I was worried that Hugh would attack again, and seriously hurt Boa, but the voice of a man interrupted us, and thankfully I didn't get the chance to find out.

"It sure is lively around here! I suppose you two were having a battle, huh?" I nodded sheepishly, scooping Boa up into my arms. Hugh was suddenly behind me with one of his large hands on my shoulder, and then his deep voice was in my ear.

"Not bad Mei, you're really starting to think about the way you bring out your Pokemon's strength. I'll definitely be able to count on you..." I shivered as Hugh pulled away, rubbing my ear on my shoulder to rid myself of the strange feeling. The man, who was wearing a bandana on his head and had a woman and Herdier by his side, continued to speak.

"Isn't it nice to be young!"  
"Who are you guys?" I elbowed Hugh in his rock hard side, earning nothing more than a grunt from the muscled man. The man who was probably the owner of the ranch laughed.

"Who am I? I'm the owner of all this land you're trespassing on!" Hugh's face grew a bit red and he rubbed the back of his head, but the man's face was smiling. "This here is my wife, Mary, and my name is Luther."

"Aw, what a cutie." Mary approached my and ran her head over Boa's head. "Here, these berries will help your Snivy feel much better." Mary reached into her apron and pulled out three Sitrus berries, and sprinkled them into my open palm.

"Thank you..." I started to feed the HP restoring treats to Boa as the conversation continued.

"Sorry if you don't want us here sir..."

"Nah, that's just fine sonny boy. We encourage trainers to come by and use this place for training, we need the company!" One of the fluffy Pokemon from earlier came by and nudged my hand. I knelt down and began to pet it.

"Wow, it's so soft! Oh!" A small shock from the fur caused me to jump, but it didn't hurt, only tingled. I giggled and continued to pet the Pokemon.

"Mareep have some of the plushest fur of any Pokemon, but some of the ones around here tend to be a little ornery, so I'd be careful."

"Would you care if I caught one?" I asked brightly.

"If they don't mind, I'd say go for it kiddo!" Just as Luther had said that though, my arm brushed up against the Mareep's tail, and a much stronger shock ran through me.

"Ouch!" I jumped up and held my arm, staring down at the Pokemon grudgingly. "Maybe not..."

"By the way, you didn't happen to see another Herdier around here, did you? I can't figure out where he went. Our two Herdier are always together and this is the first time one has wandered off, so I'm a little worried..." At this statement Hugh's body noticeably tensed up, and he took a step toward the owner.

"You're a little worried?! Are you _serious_?!" I looked towards Hugh worriedly.

"Hugh, calm down-"

"What if you never see Herdier again!? Whatever, come on Mei, help me look." It was if I hadn't said anything at all, and Hugh grabbed my tightly by the arm and began to pull me away.

"H-Hugh!? What's the big idea!?"

"We have to find their Pokemon before something happens to it!"

"It probably just wandered off somewhere, you don't have to get so worked up about it!" Hugh stopped so suddenly that I nearly ran into him.

"But what if it didn't Mei? What if it's involved in some sort of trouble, or what if it got hurt? We have to find it!" I sighed as Hugh continued to pull me along. For a few minutes we searched the open field, but it was easy to see that Herdier wasn't there. Then Hugh proceeded to drag me into the thin woods behind the ranch. There was a maze of trails and pathways back there for us to look through.

"Stay close Mei, and if you see anything call me."

"Alright," I rolled my eyes and began my own search. Sometimes Hugh could be so overprotective. It was after fifteen minutes of searching that I found that I had gotten hopelessly lost on the twisting trails, and that Hugh was no where in sight. "He's going to kill me..." I mumbled, heading even deeper into the thickening forest.

"_Yawrp, yawrp yarp!" _My head snapped to the side hearing the bark of a Pokemon.

"That could be Herdier!" I exclaimed, readjusting Boa in my arms as I began to run in the direction of the noise. I continued to hear angry barking, and other noises too, and was eventually lead to the side of a small river, where a strange man had cornered three Pokemon.

"_Yarp..." _One of the three was Herdier, who was looking nervously back at the fast moving water.

"_Luu!" _Another one had a human shape, and was blue and black with determined red eyes. It was standing defensively against the man.

"_Zu zu zu!" _The third was held up by it's tail by the man, it was small and blue, and crying. The blue and black one looked as if it wanted to help, but...

"Haha, what a weak little Pokemon!" The man bounced the crying Pokemon up and down, further angering the blue and black one.

"Hey, put her down!" I shouted. All of the Pokemon and the man, who was wearing a black outfit with a strange hat and bandana covering his mouth, turned to look at me.

"Psh, and what are you going to do about it kid?" The man's gaze was sharp and cruel. He scared me.

"_Sni..." _Boa pushed off of me, landing lightly on the ground. It seemed that the berries had done their job, and the grass type was feeling much stronger.

"Oh? A battle? I wasn't planning on it, but why not? Once I beat you I can take your Pokemon, and these three as well." He took an enlarged Pokeball from his belt and threw it up, releasing a strange Pokemon holding a mask. "Yamask, use Night Shade!" The Pokemon shot a ghostly black beam at Boa, which threw him backwards.

"Boa, are you alright?!"

"_Vee..._"

"You can do it boy, now use Vine Whip!" Boa's vines wrapped around Yamask, throwing it a good few feet, but he remained up in the air.

"Astonish!" Yamask was surrounded by an odd smoky aura before ramming into Snivy.

"Careful, Vine Whip again!" I had nothing else to do, none of Boa's other moves would affect a ghost type like this. The battle went on with neither getting in any critical hits, and the man was obviously becoming frustrated.

"This is useless!" The man began to pull out something from his pocket, but all I saw was a glint before the blue and black Pokemon jumped up, sending a karate chop down right on his wrist. "Ack! You little pest! Just you wait, _we will _rise again and you're first on my list to destroy!" I looked at the man ludicrously. "Psh, fools like you will never understand us," At that moment Herdier, who had gotten away from the side of the river, charged at the man, jaws open wide.

"_BROOOF!" _

"AH!" The man stumbled backwards, narrowly missing Herdier's sharp teeth, then turned and ran as fast as he could, dropping the same item he'd been pulling out of his pocket earlier.

As soon as he was gone, I hurried towards the side of the small blue Pokemon, who was still crying. The blue and black one got in my way though.

"_Ri, riolu!" _He held up his arms defensively, and my eyes became sad. He was worried that I would hurt his friend. I knelt down in front of the Pokemon, and Boa clambered up onto me. Sighing, I gently began to stroke the grass type's head, and talk soothingly to the Pokemon.

"I only want to help you know," The Pokemon glared at me relentlessly. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your friend, but I'll help if you let me. I have medicine that came make him-"

"_Ru!" _

"Sorry, her, feel better. Will you let me help her?" The upright Pokemon's shoulders fell a little, and I hoped that he was letting up his guard. Herdier had come to my side, sniffing me and wagging his tail. Suddenly Herdier yipped brightly at the wild Pokemon. Curiously I listened to him, and watched as the blue and black Pokemon's gaze shifted from Herdier back to me again. Then, he put his arms down, staring at me.

I set Boa down on the ground, slowly taking a Potion out of my bag. I was cautious when approaching the injured baby like Pokemon, as whenever I made a strange movement the other Pokemon tensed up again. He stepped forward when I gently put my hand on the small one's spherical body.

"It's alright," I comforted both of the Pokemon. The small one stared up at me with frightened eyes as I sprayed it's body with the Potion. "Hopefully that will make you feel better quickly." Boa then poked my thigh, and I sprayed some onto him as well. "Do you need any?" I asked Herdier and the other Pokemon. Herdier shook his head, while the other backed away. I pulled out my Pokedex to find out who these two Pokemon were.

"_Azurill, the polka dot Pokemon. __It swings its large, nutrient-filled tail around to fight opponents bigger than itself._

_Riolu, the emanation Pokemon. It uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others." _

"Riolu and Azurill. Pretty unlikely friends huh?" I smiled at the Pokemon. Riolu's stare didn't change, but Azurill's tears had stopped.

"MEI!?" I heard a bellowing shout that could have only come from one person. Riolu was looking around furiously, probably afraid that the strange man from before was returning.

"Don't worry about him, that's my friend. He'd never hurt you, but he's a bit... Intimidating." Riolu stood up taller, as if to say he wasn't afraid. That was when Hugh came barreling in through the trees.

"MEI! WHERE WERE YOU, I THOUGHT I-" I sprang up once I saw Azurill's face; she was about to cry again. I practically slapped my hand onto Hugh's mouth, and he looked down on me with heated red eyes, obviously cross with me. He made a swift move to grab my arm, but I just as quickly explained myself.

"You're going to make her cry!" Hugh's eyes quickly shifted from exasperated anger to confusion. I turned my head and pointed to Azurill, who Riolu was helping to stand. I took my hand away from Hugh's mouth and kneeled down next to the Pokemon again. "Are you feeling better Azurill?"

"_A-azoo..."_ I smiled and went to pat her head, but Riolu stepped in front of me. I took my hand back, biting my lip.

"Alright... Here then, I have some extra berries." I took out a tupperware full of Oran berries, and set two on the ground in front of the Pokemon.

"Come on Mei. I'm sure Herdier's trainer is missing him." Lips pursed, I nodded and stood up, stepping away from the wild Pokemon. Hugh watched me carefully, as if he thought that I was going to escape him again. As I stood I picked Boa up gently in my arms.

I didn't see it, but, as I turned away Azurill hopped in front of her longtime friend and protector, taking hold of the berry and taking an experimental bite, despite Riolu's protests. After which a smile appeared on the baby Pokemon's face, and she began to hop after me excitedly. Riolu, shocked to see his shy and nervous friend do this, chased after her. I heard Azurill's squeaks and turned around to see this.

"What is it Azurill?"

"_Arill!" _

"_Roo, rilu!" _Riolu protested against whatever Azurill was wanting from me. I watched them bicker pitifully.

"I wish I knew what they were saying," Hugh gently grabbed my hand, trying to tug me away impatiently.

"Let's go Mei." Suddenly Azurill stuck it's bottom lip out, and bounced from the ground onto my foot, wrapping it's small arms around my leg stubbornly. I jumped a little from the sudden action.

"Ah!" Riolu was obviously upset as well, and proceeded to try and pry the small creature from my foot. Azurill wouldn't budge. "Wha-what do I do Hugh?!"

"Well don't hurt it, and quit moving your leg!" After the momentary chaos subsided, Azurill moved her head to look up at me, a huge smile on her bright face. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hugh?"

"What?"  
"I... I think she wants to come with me."

"_Azoo zu!" _I laughed, setting Boa down on the ground and easily taking Azurill from my leg. I held her up in front of me, her tail dangling down.

"Would you like to come with me Azurill!"

"_Zwee!" _

"Yay! How would you like to be called-"

"_Riolu!"_ Riolu cried from below, looking at Azurill with pained eyes. Azurill blinked, then smiled down at her friend, speaking in their language that we couldn't understand. Riolu stared unsurely up at Azurill, before turning his gaze onto me. "_Ri... lu." _I blinked myself, looking from Azurill back to Riolu. Suddenly Riolu lost his patience, and jumped up, tapping the pocket of my duffel bag containing empty Pokeballs. Something in my chest felt like it had been born again, and a grin made it's way across my face.

"R-really? You're both going to come with me on my journey?" Riolu nodded slowly, not meeting my eyes, whilst Azurill practically bounced in my arms. I laughed, hugging Azurill to my arms. "Oh my gosh, this is amazing! I have to think of names for you!"

"You have to catch them first." Hugh interjected. I glanced at him and nodded.

"Oh, duh!" I scrambled for the red and white capsules in my bag, lightly tossing one onto Azurill's head. She disappeared, but only for a few moments before the ball clicked and I re-released her back into my arms. I embraced the cute Pokemon for a moment. "I think I'll call you Mizu!"

"_Riiill!" _Afterwards, I turned my attention towards hesitant Riolu.

"You're sure about this?" The fighting type Pokemon finally looked me in the eyes, and nodded. "You're a confident one, I'll give you that." With that, I tossed another Pokeball at Riolu, catching him easily as well. When I picked up his ball though, I could tell, just by feeling it, he wanted nothing to do with me at the moment. Sighing, I placed it back into my bag.

"What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it." Hugh nodded, then turned back to me with a smirk.

"You have it too easy, you know that, right?" I smiled back.

"Oh I know." Hugh laughed, thankfully forgetting my wandering off from earlier. Well, until...

_Thursday, June 16th_

**Yay, Azurill and Riolu are here! A long chapter, but I thought it was a good one! Please review and tell me what you think about it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's good to be back and working on this story! This is currently one of my favorite stories to write, and I love hearing what you guys think about it. So here goes the shout outs! Thanks again Sakura Touko for another great review about wanting to read the next chapter and loving the last one! And also thanks Glaceon A. Darkheart for saying that you like the plot and who also suggested an idea for a little plot twist at some point which I totally might steal from you and also give you all of the credit for XD. Just be warned, it will be awhile before anything like the Team Plasma x Mei = Jealous Hugh story gets written. **

**Anyways, I don't own Pokemon, and enjoy! **

Chapter 5: Vs. Cheren

_Thursday, June 16th_

Hugh stopped, squinting towards the river. I ran right into the back of him, causing Mizu to squeak, and Boa, who was already upset to be on the ground, to huff in annoyance.

"What's wrong with you Hugh, jeez..." He turned, walking around me before bending to pick something up in the grass. I couldn't see what it was around Hugh's large frame.

"Mei, what exactly happened before I got here?" My longtime friend's voice was strangely quiet and I looked toward him in confusion.

"Um? Well, there was this weird guy here, he was being mean to Herdier, Riolu, and Mizu, so I told him to stop. Then we got into this battle and he got mad, and then Riolu karate chopped his hand and he ran off! It was really weird..." Hugh was up so fast that I barely saw him coming. He stomped over to me, eyes blazing. I got nervous and took a few steps back, clutching Mizu tightly.

"Why on Earth didn't you call me?!"

"I-it all happened really fast, and I really didn't think about it t-too much!" I spat out quickly.

"Well you should have! He was dangerous Mei!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Hugh didn't sigh, he didn't groan or mumble like he usually would when I upset him, he just backed away and held up something that made me cringe away.

"I found this in the grass over there. He could have killed you, Mei. In that kind of situation, either get help, or get away." Hugh threw the knife into the river, and I watched it disappear downstream.

"I didn't know."

"I know. Just don't let it happen again. Now let's go." We walked back to the farm couple in silence. I returned Boa to his Pokeball, and Herdier followed behind us on the way. Mizu, who had been frightened by Hugh a few moments ago, had buried herself into my chest and wouldn't let go of my shirt. As soon as Herdier saw it's trainers and friend, it burst into a run and began to play with the other Herdier like they had never been separated at all. Hugh stayed quiet while the couple thanked us, and gave us some of the berries they grow right on the farm.

"You two seem real strong you know, are you challenging the league?"

"Yeah, I think it will be a lot of fun! My brother is sort of doing it too, but he's kinda slow to get on with it."

"Well, I don't know if you two have heard yet, but that newbie Gym Leader just moved into Aspertia just yesterday!" Hugh and I exchanged looks of surprise.

"Really?"

"I didn't think that he was supposed to move in for a couple of weeks yet." Hugh said with his eyebrows raised. But at least he didn't seem quite as angry as he had been before.

"What do you think Hugh, should we go back and challenge him?" The taller boy shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you want to, but it'll take a while to get back, and then we have to come all the way back to get to Virbank." I bit my lip thinking about it, but curiosity was getting the better of me.

"I really want to go back and meet him!" I told Hugh hugging Mizu to my chest. She squealed delightfully and Hugh actually managed a small smirk.

"Alrighty then, back to Aspertia it is!" The Qwilfish haired teen spun on his heel and began walking quickly back towards the main pathway.

"Bye everyone!" I waved and jogged after Hugh, and suddenly we were heading back towards home.

A day and a half later we were entering the gate back into Aspertia City. I was giving both Mizu and Boa chances to be carried by me, since they both loved it, but I had only taken Riolu out a few times. He still didn't much care for me, and only ever took an interest in Mizu. He even ignored Boa for the most part.

As we passed through the gate and prepared to face our parents' and be hugged to death, I spoke up again for the first time in awhile.

"I think I've finally come up with a name for Riolu."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Well I want to make sure it's alright with him first, but I was thinking about Lu."

"Like Louie?"

"Kind of. I was thinking that Lu could be short for Luke, or something like that."

"Not bad. I was thinking that you were going to name him something stupid." I pouted and nudged Hugh's shoulder.

"Hey!" Hugh chuckled, and after a few minutes we were already at his front door.

"Mom? Is anyone here? Mei and I came back!"

"Hugh!" Lucille came thundering down the stairs, jumping over the last few, and then threw herself into Hugh's arms.

"Hey Lucy!" He spun her around a couple of times before setting the young girl down.

"What are you guys doing back here?"

"Hugh!"

"Mei honey!" Each of our mothers suddenly appeared, pulling us into hugs. When Hugh finally managed to get away from Mrs. Oakley, he explained why we had returned so soon, and after an hour of my mom especially coddling me, we finally managed to leave the house and head towards the now open Trainer's School.

Lucy managed to convince Hugh to take her as well, but mostly just because Lucy had been to the Gym before, as one of the first students at the Trainer School the past two days. Once inside we were greeted by many of the neighborhood kids, who Luc quickly joined. There were even a couple of Pokemon around. There was a Panpour, a couple of Patrat, and a Roggenrola running around. I got Pokedex entries on all of them, then we were approached by a young blonde woman who I immediately figured was the teacher when all of the children began to call her Ms. Kate.

"May I help you two? You seem a bit old to be here for a lesson."

"We're here to see the Gym Leader."

"Oh boy, our first challengers kids! Are you both looking to battle Cheren?" _Cheren... I know that name too. He must be White's other friend. _

"Yes we are." Hugh answered, standing tall.

'Wonderful, just follow me this way-" We got a small tour of the school, which was really just one big classroom, but perfect just for our small city. Ms. Kate was very excited as a first time teacher, and excited to be working with Cheren as well. Apparently he was a very well seasoned trainer, and even though he had never worked with children before, Cheren had taken this job at the Trainer School. She even talked about how she had tried to get Alder to take a teaching job here, but he had replied saying that 'it was the year of young people now'. Which sounded exactly like something he would say.

Eventually Ms. Kate lead us to a hallway in the back, where a door marked by the usual Gym statuettes stood.

"It's right through here guys." Hugh waited for me to enter first, and I was immediately blinded by the bright sunlight outside.

"Perfect day to win!" I exclaimed.

"Hm." An older man with white hair and wearing reflective sunglasses strode right over to us and introduced himself.

"Hello! I'm Clyde, a Gym guide for trainers such as yourselves."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mei, and this is my friend Hugh."

"Patrat, use Bide!"

"Dodge it and use Bite!" A battle between two young kids caught my attention. A tall young man was standing with his back to us, watching.

"Why don't each of you take some water, to keep you hydrated?" Clyde handed us each a bottle of water. Hugh said thank you and took a long drink from his, while I stuck my water in my bag. Clyde continued his little Gym speech, but I was too distracted to listen. Finally someone called out to the man watching the kids battle, and he turned towards us.

I blinked, and my mouth opened in surprise. _I knew I recognized the name Cheren! That's definitely White's friend! _He was older than I remembered, probably about sixteen or seventeen. His hair was longer but still neatly kept. Cheren now wore a plain white dress shirt and tie, and he wasn't wearing glasses anymore. Cheren's gray eyes seemed a lot older than he looked to be. Cheren watched me curiously as I stared.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. I'm White's cousin, Mei. I've probably met you a few times before, since you guys were all practically inseparable." I saw a nostalgic look float across Cheren's face, before it was replaced by seriousness again.

"Nice to see you again then. So, I'm assuming you two are challengers?" Hugh nodded once with his arms crossed, probably sizing Cheren up as an opponent, while I nodded eagerly. Cheren held his arms out in a welcoming manner. "Welcome to Aspertia City's Pokemon Gym. As you have probably already figured out, I'm Cheren, the Gym Leader. Which one of you will be challenging me first?" I immediately looked at Hugh for guidance. I always wanted his advice for things like this. He gave me a knowing smile and answered Cheren.

"Mei will go first."

"What?!" I jumped at the unexpected answer I heard coming from Hugh. "Why do I have to go first?!"

"You looked at me didn't you? Besides, I would like to see you battle Mei."

"Can't you see me battle second?!" Hugh laughed in his special way that made my heart flutter, and my cheeks go red.

"Oh come on, aren't you excited?"

"Um, w-well yeah, but I'm nervous..."

"Hey now," Hugh placed his enormous hands on my hair buns, turning my face to see his a few inches above mine. "That's gotta change Mei. You're always about the 'but' and never about the new, the change, and the excitement. You're a trainer now, and you've got plenty of new things to experience. Now get out there and win. For me." If not for that perfect pep talk, I would have been frozen there. His face had been so close to mine... and his grin was so amazing... Swallowing every doubt I'd had I nodded my head, and turned to face Cheren, who was looking on with a look that told me he was ready to give me everything he had. I hugged Mizu tightly, and she squeaked.

"I'm ready Cheren! I challenge you!" Cheren nodded and smiled.

"Alright, we have a challenger! Pedro, Serena, you will continue your battle afterwards. Mei, please-" Cheren motioned his hand towards one end of the chalked out field, and I jogged over. Once standing in my box, I bent down to stretch while Cheren made his way over to his spot, and Clyde announced the rules.

"This battle between challenger Mei and Leader Cheren will end after one trainer defeats the other. Each trainer is allowed two Pokemon. Are each of you ready?"

"Of course." Cheren answered confidently, adjusting his red tie.

"Mm hm."

"Then you may begin!"

"Mizu, I choose you first!" The small blue Pokemon peeped in surprise, and she turned around to look up at me. "You heard me cutie, it's time for your first battle!"

"_Zu... Zu... RIIIIIL!"_ Suddenly Mizu burst into salty tears, burying herself into my chest while wrapping her tail around my arm.

"Mizu! What's the matter?!" Of course Mizu couldn't answer, even if she was able to speak, not with her tears. "Sweetie pie, what happened?" I knelt down on the ground and held poor little Mizu up in front of me after untangling her tail from my arm and pouted at her shaking body. "I promise battling isn't so bad, and it's especially good after you win! And even if you do get hurt, I will always take super good care of you, and we'll go straight to the Pokemon Center after this, okay?" Though Mizu's lip was still trembling, I set her on the ground and she slowly turned around towards Cheren, who had already released a Patrat as his first choice.

"Okay Mizu, use Bubble!" A small spray of bubbles made their way towards Patrat, but Cheren was already having him move out of the way.

"Patrat go in for a Tackle!" Patrat shoved Mizu over, and when she fell she bounced twice, once on her head and again on her tail before landing on her bottom.

"Oh no-" I whispered, holding my hands up to my mouth.

"_Ri... Ri... RIIIII!" _As I had expected, Mizu burst into tears again, and I being the worrisome trainer who babies her _baby _Pokemon, rushed over to her side.

"Oh baby Mizu, I'm so so sorry honey! I didn't know that you were so scared of battling and everything, or else I would have tried to help you out sooner instead of just throwing you in here like this!" I grabbed Mizu by her spherical body, looking guiltily into her eyes.

"May we please continue our battle?" Cheren asked, looking over at us. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed, or just mildly interested. My eyes darted back over towards Mizu. I only had one other Pokemon, and didn't know if Boa would be able to handle it by himself.

A popping sound caused both of us to jump, and then before I knew it Riolu was standing in front of both of us, holding out his left arm in a protective manner.

"_Rolu!" _He didn't look back at us, but Mizu bounced and squealed in delight at seeing her friend again. I didn't move for a few moments, trying to decide what I should do.

"Come on Mei, none of us have got all day." Cheren said impatiently. I looked back at Riolu again, and saw that he had turned his head slightly back, and one of his red eyes that were suddenly reminding me of Hugh was watching me. I could feel what Riolu wanted from me. It wasn't hard. I wasn't sure if this feeling was a trainer thing, or if it had something to do with Riolu's power of auras. I just knew that he wanted me to command him, to win this battle. With another nod of determination, I walked with heavy and sure steps towards Hugh.

"Here, watch her." I promptly placed a still gleeful Mizu into Hugh's slightly confused arms. Even though Mizu is still pretty nervous around Hugh, around most men actually, she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were glued to Riolu, who I was beginning to realize was Mizu's role model and probably her protector too.

"Alright Riolu, we can do this! Start out with Quick Attack!"

"Look out!" Riolu was way too fast and accurate to miss, and he hit Patrat easily. "Come on, get it together! Work Up!"

"Use Karate Chop!"

"_Skree!" _Patrat fell over after Riolu's powerful attack.

"Use Tackle!" Patrat recovered though, grabbing Riolu around his middle and bringing him to the ground. They rolled over but Riolu seemed to be very used to combat like this. He kept the both of them rolling again until Patrat let go and Riolu rolled into a standing position.

"Alright Riolu, now use Quick Attack and Karate Chop again!" With Riolu's type advantage and precise attacks, Patrat was soon easily defeated with those two moves. Cheren looked to be stressed, as he returned Patrat to it's Pokeball. He even put his hands up to his face as if pushing some glasses back. I grinned. "Great going Riolu, we're totally going to win this!"

"I wouldn't get too ahead of yourselves. I've still got one more Pokemon who is very much ready to take you on. Lillipup, I choose you next!"

"I'm counting on you giving me a hard time Cheren! Bring it on!"

"Alrighty then," Cheren adjusted his tie again while I giggled. I found it cute that he was trying so hard to act like an adult when he wasn't even eighteen yet. Of course, Cheren hadn't been given the position as a Gym Leader by just screwing around all the time either. "Lillipup, use Dig!"

"Wha-"

"_Lu lu, riolu!" _I had no idea what to tell Riolu to do, I hadn't expected any of Cheren's Pokemon to know any moves other than Tackle, Leer, and Growl. "_Raa!"_ The fighting type was knocked up into the air when Lillipup resurfaced, and landed on his stomach, almost immediately jumping back up.

"I-I'm sorry Riolu! Um, use Karate Chop!"

"Dodge it and use Bite Lillipup!" The small puppy Pokemon latched it's teeth onto Riolu's hand, refusing to let go even as Riolu shook it's hand and pushed on Lillipup's face.

"C'mon Riolu, just use Karate Chop with your other hand!" He looked hesitant at first, and I guessed that Riolu must be left handed to not immediately attack with his right hand, but he did anyways, finally knocking the normal type onto the ground with a whimper. "Now use Feint!" Riolu ended his turn with a well placed punch, causing Lillipup to roll away. He still managed to get to his feet though, wobbling.

"Work Up Lillipup," After increasing his stats, Lillipup stood facing Riolu, as ready as ever. "Now use Dig again!"

"Avoid it Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Riolu darted around the field, while Lillipup stayed under, unable to figure out where Riolu would end up next. I didn't know how long Riolu could keep that up though, while Lillipup could stay underground as long as he wanted. It made me nervous fast, and I had to say something or else Riolu was going to run out of energy.

"Stop Riolu!" The fighting type skidded to a stop before I quickly shouted another command at him. "Jump back and use Endure!" Lillipup exploded out of the dirt just a foot in front of Riolu, and attempted to tackle him, but in Riolu's protective stance it did very little damage. "Use Karate Chop again!"

"_Pup!"_ The puppy Pokemon fell backwards and flipped over, fainting. The field was not silent afterwards to provide a moment of relaxation, because Hugh, holding Mizu's small body in one hand, threw up his arms.

"Alright Mei! Way to go!" Hugh only had to take a few long strides before he got over to me, placing Mizu back into my arms. Then he wrapped his powerful arms around me, lifting me up into the air.

"H-Hugh! Put me down!"

"Aw, come on Mei! You just won your first Gym battle!" Hugh placed my feet back onto the ground, and he bent down a little so that we were nearly nose to nose. He was looking right into my eyes, and all I could see were his large red ones. "That's something to be real proud of!"

"Ahem," Both of us turned our heads quickly to look at Cheren, and ended up bonking them painfully together.

"Ow!"

"Watch it!"

"You're one to talk Qwilfish head!" I thought I saw Cheren smile lightly from out of the corner of my eye, and I was momentarily annoyed until I turned towards him and Cheren's face was as blank as ever.

"This is what a real Pokemon battle is, Mei. I am incredibly glad that you were my first challenger. It was an honor." Cheren bowed respectively, and I did so back, no longer scowling as the pain in my forehead had subsided.

"I'm glad that you were my first Gym Leader Cheren. I really did enjoy battling you!" Cheren smiled and nodded, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Mei, I award you this in honor of the strength you and your Pokemon showed me today." Clyde had appeared behind Cheren with a small bronze box which he held open. The Gym Leader gently took the small metal object and placed it into my palm. "Here is your first Gym Badge, the Basic Badge. This is a very important milestone in your career as a trainer Mei, I can clearly remember winning my first Gym Badge. And here, this is a gift. It's the Technical Machine Work Up."

"Thank you so much Cheren!" As I was putting the TM away, I heard Cheren sighing, and I looked up slightly concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I am Mei, thank you for asking. I'm just feeling nostalgic. Nearly three years ago, Pokedex in hand, I left on a journey with my friends. I miss that day now, especially seeing you two today. I do thank you though Mei, I did enjoy our time today. Now, Hugh is it?"

"Alright! It's my turn now! Get ready to be beaten in about six seconds flat Cheren!"

_Friday, June 17th_

**Thanks for reading, please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Pokemon! **

**Rosa123, thanks for the review, it was super nice!**

**rylek196 gave me one of the best reviews I've ever gotten, which was very constructive, and I thank you for that. I will take your advice to heart. Also, so sorry for the wait. I know you said at the end of your review that you didn't want to wait this long XD. Sorry, sorry. I get a lot of writer's block, and I have a lot of stories. I usually only write one chapter for each and go in a certain order. You can check out some of my other stories if you need something to tide you over! They're all based off of the games, except for one, and two stories not about Pokemon. I hope you all enjoy the chapter! **

Chapter 6: History In The Heat Of June

_Friday, June 17th_

Cheren raised his eyebrows at Hugh, but I was used to it.

"Confident I see."

"Oh yeah! I've been waiting for this for years!" Hugh took a Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it, clearly read to go.

"Then we should get started." Cheren returned to his place, and Hugh followed with that walk of his, his head held up high and his hands shoved into his pockets. I giggled a bit, rubbing cheeks with Mizu's smooth almost rubbery body, covered in a thin, fine layer of blue hair.

"I think he's gonna do great Mizu."

"_Riil!" _Then Clyde re-explained the rules. Only the challenger may substitute their Pokemon. No items. Only two Pokemon per trainer. I saw Hugh get a little red in the face at that, yet he didn't say anything.

"Oh... Oh! Hugh!" I shouted, becoming more angry with him by the second.

"Shut up Mei, I have to concentrate!" I puffed irately, and looked away.

"Idiot. He only has one Pokemon. He's making it harder on himself and he knows it! Can you believe this?" I had been talking to Mizu, but to my surprise, it was Riolu who answered. I never returned him back to his Pokeball.

"_Lu ri." _Riolu had crossed his arms and shook his head, but I couldn't quite tell if he was agreeing with me or not. I decided to continue the conversation.

"I don't understand why he feels the need to prove himself like this. What do you think Riolu?" Riolu didn't reply this time. He stared intently at the battle beginning to unfold as Hugh threw out Tepig, and Cheren a Minccino. "Hm... Hey, Riolu?" The fight type looked up at me blankly. "I was kind of wondering about your name. You know, what it could be? Of course I want to make sure it's okay with you first."

"_Lu..."_ Riolu looked apprehensive, but waited for me to say something.

"I was thinking it could be Luke. Or Lu, for short. Do you like that?" Under Riolu's strict gaze, I became nervous, and had to look away. He didn't answer me, and I focused back on the battle, and decided to find out more about Minccino in my Pokedex.

"_Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokemon. __Minccino greet each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails."_

"He's cute..."

"Go in for a Pound Minccino!"

"Ember Tepig!" The normal type jumped back in pain and surprise, and Hugh took the opportunity to attack again. "Now go in for a Flame Charge!" Tepig stomped his feet a few times before bursting into flames, and charging at Minccino.

"Dodge it!" Minccino, even after the Ember attack, easily and skillfully front flipped right over the charging fire type. He landed lightly on his feet behind Tepig and spun around, prepared for Cheren's next command. "Use Tickle Minccino!"

"Psh!" Hugh nearly laughed. He didn't even try to escape the attack. I nearly ran over there and smacked him right upside the head.

"Come on Hugh," I said to myself. "He's being such an idiot! He has to be careful if he's only challenging Cheren with one Pokemon..." In order to keep myself calm, I started to carefully scratch the very top of Mizu's head. She squealed quietly in appreciation, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Riolu glance up at her. He had a tiny smile on his face.

"Now use Pound Minccino!"

"_Chii!" _Tepig quickly stopped snorting with laughter. Instead he squealed painfully, and struggled to stand up afterwards. He was even having trouble breathing.

"Come on Tepig, shake it off! Use Defense Curl then Flame Charge again!"

"Dodge it and use Double Slap!"

"Quick, Tackle!" Minccino, who had expertly dodged the attack again, was surprised when Tepig's flaming body immediately sizzled out, and the tiny pig Pokemon whirled around right into his opponent's face. "Alright Tepig, nice one!" After the attack, Tepig trotted back towards Hugh, snorting with pride. Hugh did a fist pump. I shook my head. _He's taken too much damage already. Minccino isn't even down yet, and he still has one more to go! I still want him to be alright though... _

I felt guilty for having these thoughts, but I knew that they were true. My like for Hugh wasn't outweighing our friendship at that moment. He was clearly being pig headed and cocky.

"Jeez Hugh..."

"Use Growl Minccino!" Minccino let out a growl which sounded more like a hiss, but I wasn't watching the fluffy little Pokemon. I was carefully looking at Hugh, and the growing grimace on his face. His attack kept being lowered, as was his defense. He could do all he wanted about Tepig's defense since it knew Defense Curl, but that wouldn't be able to help anything if Tepig couldn't do decent damage.

"Ember one more time Tepig!" A spray of red hot sparks shot towards Minccino. Even though the attack, especially after the Growl and Tickle attacks, was weaker than usual, Minccino was also barely hanging on. Minccino squeaked, and fainted.

"Nice job Minccino, take a long rest." Cheren mumbled as he returned the fluffy normal type. "I'm impressed Hugh. Your Tepig is very strong, and the both of you are very confident." Cheren called in a strong, deep voice across the field.

"Tepig and I have been together for years! Of course we're strong!" Cheren smiled as if he were talking to a child. I watched him curiously. He obviously knew something, and I wished to know what was going through his head.

"If you believe yourself to be a powerful challenger, than I shall aim to be the wall you must overcome. Which means that beating me will not be easy! Here goes my final Pokemon, Pidove, go!"

Both Hugh and I flipped out our Pokedexes, Hugh like a professional, but I nearly dropped mine. Thankfully only one of Cheren's pupils saw, and I turned away before they could see how red my face was.

"_Pidove, the tiny pigeon Pokemon. This very forgetful Pokémon will wait for a new order from its Trainer even though it already has one."_ As I put my Pokedex away, I glanced up and once again saw Hugh smiling and laughing to himself.

"Stupid idiot... He's going to lose if he keeps acting so cocky..." I readjusted my hat for a quick second, glancing momentarily at the sun which was beginning to beat down on me. Although I would have rather started in the early spring, it was better than starting in the fall or winter.

The battle went on in the heat, and I stood there uncomfortably. I could barely watch, and wanted to sit down so badly, but I had to be there and watch Hugh. Riolu seemed perfectly fine. Mizu on the other hand was beginning to squirm in my arms, and I was sure that she was going to burst into tears at one point.

"Poor Mizu... Hurry up Hugh..." I mumbled to myself as I kneeled down, and poured a bottle of water out on top of Mizu.

"_Mii!"_ She squealed joyfully and jumped up, enjoying the coolness. I smiled at her.

"Quick Attack Pidove!"

"Flame Charge!" Pidove was going too fast to stop, and Tepig charged right into it, fully ablaze, and with twice as much power as Quick Attack. The bird Pokemon went flying in a small ball of fire, and landed outside the battle field lines.

"Pidove is unable to battle, which means that the Gym Leader, Cheren, is out of usable Pokemon! The victor and proud new owner of the Basic Badge, is Hugh!"

"Alright! Awesome Tepig, you did great!" I looked over at the starter Pokemon, but he didn't seem nearly as ecstatic as his trainer was. _That's not like Tepig. He must be exhausted with all that Hugh put him through, putting all his hopes into Tepig alone... _"Tepig?"

"_Peee..." _Tepig let out one last, small moan, before collapsing on the field.

"Tepig!" Hugh is the most protective person I know, and as soon as he saw his Pokemon collapse, he ran out onto the field as fast as he could.

"Oh no..." I ran out after him, leaving Mizu and Riolu on the sidelines. "Is he okay?" Hugh gently cradled his unconscious friend in his arms.

"I think so. But, we'll probably have to spend a little time at the Pokemon Center. Right away." Hugh stood up, gently holding Tepig in his arms, and looking tenderly down at him.

"Nice work Hugh. You are a powerful opponent, but you put your Pokemon in a lot of danger. May I ask why you didn't switch out your Pokemon?" I gave Hugh a meaningful look, and he turned away.

"I just believed in Tepig. I knew that he could accomplish whatever he wanted." _Only when he knew that he was your only shot Hugh..._ I sighed and looked at the ground. _How frustrating can he get! _Cheren did the same, and smiled, but then looked at Hugh scoldingly.

"There is nothing wrong with believing in your Pokemon. It is the best way to give them your strength. But, Hugh, it is also the duty of a trainer to make sure that their Pokemon is strong enough to continue, and to retire them if need be. A loyal Pokemon such as Tepig will keep on fighting for it's trainer until it is utterly exhausted and cannot go on. Never allow that to happen Hugh." I watched my longtime friend worriedly. I knew that he was going to be hard on himself. He swallowed and nodded, looking at Cheren intensely with a red gaze.

"Never. I swear." Cheren nodded back his approval, then straightened his tie and reached back into his pocket.

"Now, I do believe you and Tepig have earned this. I award you with this Basic Badge Hugh, and this technical machine as well." Hugh took both items in one of his large hands, while still holding Tepig gently in the other.

"Thanks."

"I'm giving you the TM Return. I think that with the bond you and Tepig have, this move will serve you well." Hugh nodded again, then tried to reach into his pocket for something. He struggled though with Tepig in one arm, then looked to me. I gave him an understanding look, then reached my arms out.

"I'll take him Hugh."

"And you'll be careful?" I cocked my head and gave Hugh an irritated look, though I really didn't mind in the slightest.

"Of course I'll be careful. Now give him here." Hugh mumbled a thanks, then I took Tepig into my arms and stroked his ears. Hugh then took out his Badge Case, a gray and red one, and placed the rectangular Basic Badge inside.

"Look, Hugh and Mei. There are eight Pokemon Gyms and eight Gym Badges you must collect. You are both very different, but very smart young people, and very promising trainers. Your Pokemon care about you, and you care about your Pokemon. Fill up the pages of your Pokedex, learn about yourselves and the world around you on your journey. You will find something you didn't know before, I promise." Cheren bowed slightly, and I did the same to him, while Hugh just nodded.

"Thank you so much Cheren. It was an honor to battle with you."

"The same to you Mei. Now, let me see you both out." The three of us began walking back towards the school, with Hugh and I on either side of the Gym Leader. As we came by Riolu and Mizu, I returned them both to their Pokeballs.

Cheren, although he had seemed so kind and wise before, began to lecture us on the most boring topics as we passed through the school towards the entrance. As soon as he started talking about status conditions, I wanted him to be back to teaching his own kids.

Finally, we came to the entrance, with Hugh's little sister in hot pursuit. Cheren opened the door for us, and Hugh and I were finally free.

"Heeeey guys!" As I came to the bottom of the stairs leading back down to the street, a high pitched voice called out to us.

"What is that _noise_?" Hugh complained as he too came out onto the steps.

"Bianca," I replied, as the blonde woman with the big floppy orange vest and green beret which stayed amazingly on top of her head came barreling towards us. I even took a step back, and held Tepig away from her, but somehow Bianca managed to stop before she knocked me over.

"How was it you two?! How did your Pokemon battle with the Gym Leader go?! I'm just _dying _to know!" Bianca hung on my arm excitedly, and didn't even seem to notice Tepig still unconscious.

"Well, um, let us show you." I carefully reached into my pocket, as did Hugh, and we both clicked open our Badge Cases to show Bianca. She reached for mine and carefully examined the Badge inside.

"Oh! If it isn't the Basic Badge!" Bianca gently took the small metal badge out of the case and ran her fingers over it's surface. She looked so melancholic... "Wow... Amazing, really." _She's so cute all of a sudden. I wonder what's wrong. _"I can't believe you two have made it so far already. And you just set off on your journeys, too! You both have so much potential, I know it!" Bianca placed the Badge back, and then I put it back into my pocket. Suddenly Bianca embraced me, being gentle as not to disturb Tepig, but I nearly jumped in surprise. I looked over at Hugh, who was finally coming down the steps, but he only shrugged.

"I'm so proud of you guys... And that Cheren..."

"Bianca!"

"Eek!" The blonde lady jumped backwards, and looked as if she were about to bolt. Her face had turned a bright shade of red.

"It's nearly been two years, hasn't it?" Cheren, who seemed ecstatic to see Bianca, rushed down the steps. Bianca looked horrified. She held her hat out in front of her face, as if she was hiding.

"Only a year and nine months!" Just then the blonde girl slapped her hands over her mouth and shook her head wildly. The red framed glasses she was wearing nearly flew off of her face.

"Careful with those! I gave those to you with the expectation that you wouldn't destroy them..." Cheren reached out as if Bianca and him were the closest of friends, which shouldn't have been true if they hadn't seen each other for so long. _Though I suppose they have been friends since childhood... _Bianca froze, and the slightly taller Cheren pushed her glasses gently back onto her nose.

"Wha-wha-wha-what's up?" Bianca attempted to greet the Gym Leader back, and he chuckled a bit. The atmosphere was so awkward that I could have cut it with a knife.

"Do these two have history or what?" Hugh leaned over and whispered to me. I snickered, but quickly stopped myself and punched Hugh in the shoulder. He laughed too.

"I came down so that I could register you two in my Xtransceiver, so um... Here you go-" Cheren pulled out a notepad and pen, and quickly scribbled down his number before handing me the paper. He never once looked away from Bianca though. "I've gotten a new number Bianca, and I did send it to you, but I'm not sure if you ever got-"

"I-I got it." Bianca tapped on her Xtransceiver, then held it up for us to see. Cheren nodded, looking hopeful.

"Good. You should really call me sometime Bianca, so we can catch up." Bianca nodded, finally putting her beret back on.

"O-Oh, right. I was supposed to give you guys mine and Professor Juniper's numbers too. Here." Bianca did the same as Cheren, and handed me two more numbers.

"Thanks Bianca."

"Y-Yeah, no problem! Now I really should get going, so-" The bright eyed woman was interrupted as every one of our Xtransceivers began ringing simultaneously. Answering, I saw all of our faces, plus one that I had only ever seen on television.

"_Hiya everyone! Nice to finally meet you, Mei and Hugh! I'm Professor Juniper! And you too Cheren, long time no see!" _

"_Hello Professor. How is your research going?" _

"_Wonderful, thank you! So, Bianca says that you two have accepted the Pokedex! I just wanted to thank you both! The more people who use the Pokedex, the more we can learn about Pokemon, and all get along so much better!" _

"_No problem Professor!" _

"It's no trouble, really! Hugh and I are super excited about finally going on a journey!"

"_Hey Professor Juniper! My research is going terrifically! I've found at least seven Pokemon species that we couldn't prove were here two years ago!" _

"_Brilliant Bianca! You're a great help! And Cheren, how are you enjoying being a Gym Leader?" _

"_The position is tough, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. If only I could use my usual partners..." _

"_You know the rules Cheren! Besides, having battles that come down to the wire will make you a Gym Leader who deepens the bonds between your challengers and their Pokemon, right?"  
_

"_Right..." _

"_Well, that's all I wanted to say to you all, so thank you, and good luck to all of you!" _The Professor hung up abruptly, and we all turned and looked towards each other.

"Isn't Professor Juniper just the coolest?" Bianca beamed, finally looking comfortable in her own skin.

"She is. I hope I can see her in person again soon..." Cheren replied, and the blonde looked as if she'd just seen a ghost, though she had only remembered that the Gym Leader was right beside her.

"Oh, um, yes, right! I must be going now, goodbye everyone!"

"Bianca, wait- She's already gone... At least her speed hasn't changed... Ah, well, don't forget to call us if you ever need anything. Goodbye Mei and Hugh." Then Cheren turned around and headed back inside the school, just as Lucy came hurtling out laughing.

"Come on Lucy, we've got to take you home now."

"Okay big brother!"

"What are we doing after that Hugh?" We started to walk, and before he replied, Hugh patted Tepig, whose breathing had evened out, on the head.

"The Pokemon Center first, obviously. And then, well, Virbank was the plan all along, so tomorrow it's to Virbank City we go!"

_Friday, June 17th_

**Please review and let me know what you all thought about the chapter!**


End file.
